About Us
Akwaaba!
Founded in 2023 Joyful Noise Inc is a family friendly entertainment company that currently offers a variety of cultural and imaginative programs to bring people of all generations (gender, religious orthodox, race, belief, class…) together to participate in games, storytelling, music and dance. We believe for mental health, laughter is medicine, movement is medicine, community is medicine and that together we learn through play. Joyful Noise Inc fills a diversity gap locally for Afrocentric Family programs available in Alberta. The Games we play with our audience come to us via oral tradition, taught to use by community elders.
Karen Richards
Karen Richards is a Social Worker (MSW, RSW) and community activist trying to raise a family of revolutionaries in Edmonton, Alberta. Outside of full-time government work, Karen is a teacher at heart as a sessional instructor of ‘Practice and Evaluation with Communities’ through the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work.
Combining the love of activism and culture, Karen has embedded arts and physicality in uplifting the community of Edmonton through cultural experiences and facilitation. Karen engages and organizes adults and youth to learn and live Black history and excellence. With years of experience in theater production, television appearances, board governance, and political punditry, Karen brings a range of disciplines to presentations.
Karen is a certified Mental Health First Aid Facilitator, empowering whole communities by reducing stigma and helping participants learn how to support others to address their mental well-being.
Bert Richards
Bert (Dirt Gritie) Richards is an Edmonton, Alberta born Entrepreneur and Activist of Jamaican/Vincentian heritage. Currently Bert is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of “Joyful Noise Ink” a company that provides family friendly programming using games, storytelling, music and dance from West African/Caribbean Heritage.
A graduate of NAIT’s Special Event Management Program Bert continues to make meaningful contributions volunteering on boards and working with groups such as EFCL (District H Rep), the Ghana Cultural Heritage Program (youth program facilitator), 124 st Grand Markets (community coordinator), Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival (site manager) as well as other professional and non-for-profit ventures. An accomplished hip hop and spoken word artist, Bert Richards Co-Found Music for Mavericks Ent and The Breath in Poetry Collective (BIP) both organizations have played a major role to elevate their respected genres locally. Fun fact, Bert is also a two-time game show contestant on session 5 of The Amazing Race Canada with his wife finishing 4th overall and Family Feud Canada