(Images: Courtesy of the Washington D.C. Mayor’s Office on African Affairs -- OAA)
By Reginald Johnson
The Africa Festival is coming to D.C. this weekend
Washington D.C. will come alive on September 27, 2015, as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and her Office on African Affairs (MMOAA) hold the 6th Annual DC Africa Festival, the city’s free community event giving locals a chance to learn more about its African population through art, culture, food, history, and music.
The event has easily become one of the most anticipated cultural events in the District. It has gone from a few hundred to now drawing thousands of visitors; thousands who learn a great deal. It’s part of MOAA’s Multicultural Awareness and Community Building Program. It’s a way to celebrate the varied identities of African people; promoting the different cultures within the District’s African community; and encouraging all District residents to learn about African heritage, customs, and history.
For decades, Africans from all walks of life have migrated from Africa to DC to build better lives for themselves and their families and to contribute to the District’s community. This year’s festival, themed Showcasing Diasporan Diversity, Building Communities aims to portray this journey, offering snapshots of it, connecting the threads of its continuity, and showcasing the cultural, musical and historical vivacity of a settled African community in the District that they now call home. The festival will help connect African immigrants to government resources and community-based organizations available in to help them benefit from our thriving city, to highlight the value of diversity, and to underline that living in a multicultural city strengthens our resilience and broadens our resources all around.
Among other attractions, the 6th Annual DC Africa Festival will feature exciting activities for people of all ages, including: locally and nationally acclaimed live music and dance performances, a parade of African flags ceremony – paying homage to the diverse African communities represented in the District, a Children’s Corner featuring fun games and activities for kids of all ages, an African Culture Chalets with enticing experiences of African cultures, contemporary designs and traditional African attire, and arts, crafts, and food vendors highlighting the best of Africa in DC.
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