CRAFT IN AMERICA: Celebration

Friday, July 4, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 / Stream now with the PBS app

CRAFT IN AMERICA, the Peabody Award-winning PBS series, marks the holiday season with an all new hour titled "Celebration." Throughout its seven seasons, CRAFT IN AMERICA has highlighted the finest examples of American artistry. This hour adds another important chapter to that anthology by examining the role craft plays in our holiday customs, with a focus on our winter observances and the traditions that are handed down from one generation to another as well as new rituals that define the season.

Explore the many ways Americans celebrate time-honored traditions, featuring lion dancers and float builders for San Francisco’s acclaimed Chinese New Year Parade, artists in Michigan making ceramics for the holidays at Pewabic (Detroit) and Motawi Tileworks (Ann Arbor), Kwanzaa celebrations with artists in Chicago and Oakland, and Christmas card-making in Tacoma, Washington, with woodblock print artist Yoshiko Yamamoto.

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A lion head for Chinese New Year.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Travis Lum repairs a lion head for Chinese New Year celebrations.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Jamie Hickey sponges and cleans up the slip cast Snowdrop Vase (Pewabic).

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Table setting with Pewabic’s Snowdrop Vases and work made by Pewabic artisans.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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A Kwanzaa table.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Seneferu and his wife, Karen, address an elder during the Kwanzaa ceremony.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Yoshiko Yamamoto at the printing press.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Yumei Hou carves a sheep out of styrofoam for a Chinese New Year float.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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"Winter Cardinals," printed card by Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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"Snowman," printed card by Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

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Babatunde Graves, who makes kinaras, the candleholders for Kwanzaa celebrations.

Courtesy of Mark Markley

Watch On Your Schedule: "Celebration" is available to stream with the PBS app. Watch the best of PBS anytime, anywhere on the free PBS app. Stream your favorite PBS shows on-demand and livestream shows from your local station, all from your favorite device.

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