Home Again: A Benefit for TIRRC featuring Kofi Mawuko w/ Ogya World Music Band and Mariah Friend

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Buy Tickets: https://eventim.us/homeagainbenefit26 Doors at 5:30 PM Show at 6:30 PM Seated Show What does it mean to find home—and to help create a place where others can belong? Home Again: An Evening of Story, Song, and Belonging brings literature, conversation, and live music together for a one-night benefit supporting the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). The evening begins with Chattanooga author Mariah Friend reading from her debut novel, The Pattern Shop, followed by a conversation led by Hope Henchey, exploring identity, migration, community, and what it means to belong to one another. Then Ghanaian-born Chattanooga musician Kofi Mawuko and his eight-piece Ogya World Music Band take the stage for a high- energy performance drawing together the rhythms of West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. A singer, dancer, multi-instrumentalist, master drummer, and longtime Chattanooga teaching artist, Mawuko began performing in his native Ghana as a child and later toured internationally with the Kyirem Cultural Troupe. After living and teaching in London, he relocated to the United States and ultimately made Chattanooga home. Friend is a former ICU nurse turned debut author of The Pattern Shop—inspired by her experiences backpacking around the world in her mid-twenties, including spending several months in Ghana. Her writing is inspired by the twin vocabularies of loss and healing, and what it means to belong to each other. Based in Chattanooga, Mariah thrives when cultivating moments of depth, connection, and building community. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, a statewide, immigrant- and refugee-led nonprofit working through community organizing, policy advocacy, belonging initiatives, and direct resources for immigrant and refugee families. Community Ticket — $10 For those for whom the Standard ticket price would be a barrier to attending. A limited number are…

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