9thAnnual  African Festival Set to Excite Many

By Harrison Maina
The increasingly popular  African Festival  in  Lowell, Mass. scheduled to take place  next week on Saturday, June 20 , is set  to haul in bigger crowds than the well attended 8th  Annual  event last  summer.

Growing by leaps and bounds, the once a year event brings together Africans from different countries who reside in Lowell and its environs to celebrate and showcase the rich, diverse and vibrant cultures of Africa.

Last year’s event saw thousands of Africans and indeed more Americans came out to enjoy the beautiful summer weather while sampling different treasures from different African communities, ranging from food, music, arts and crafts.

“We had a huge turnout last year and a lot of fun”, said Fru Nkimbeng, the president of the organizing committee for the festival. “People were able to bring out their loved ones to see different things about Africa”. Mr. Nkimbeng added.

Nkimbeng who hails from Cameroon said that the African Festival celebrations started from humble beginnings 9 years ago but has now grown into a major event that is enriching the lives of Lowell residents.  “We have grown slowly but steadily, and we have received a lot of support from the leaders in Lowell led by the mayor”.
 
  Lowell mayor, the Honorable Edward Caulfield, has been a very welcoming and supporting figure to the African community in Lowell and has always been available to attend African community events as long as he is invited. All city Councilors have been invited as well..

Mayor Caulfield has been urging Africans in the area to step up and get involved in the community events to make Lowell a better place to live for everyone. He will be speaking at this year’s festival. The festival is held at the Sampas Pavilion with a picturesque background of the Merrimack River, which creates   a very relaxing, romantic and picnic-like environment.

Mayor Caulfield recently signed a citation making the city of Lowell a sister city to the city of Nairobi, Kenya. Lowell had already become a sister city to the city of Bamenda in Cameroon in 2002.

Previous events have been dominated by West Africans, mainly from Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia, Sierra Leone. However, last year’s event saw a lot of East Africans from Kenyan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia come out to enjoy the day.

“We are hoping to have a big representation form the East African countries this year”, Robert Omoyeni, the organizing secretary of the festival, told ajabuafrica.com during a planning session for the event last week. Omoyeni hails from Nigeria.

Worcester  Anglican Kenyan Youth  cultural group who will be performing at the 9 th Annual African Festival. pic by Sam Njubi

Several community leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have been invited to talk about their respective countries. Event organizers have also set up an essay competition to attract the growing number of African youths in Massachusetts.

“The competition is for youths aged 7-21, and top winner will scoop a $75 cash prize, with dozens more prizes to be won”, said.click here to view the rules

Monica Swaida, another Nigerian lady deeply involved in the organization. “This will be a fun thing and we urge all parents to get their kids involved because the deadline for the competition is June 15, added Ms. Lee Furusa from Zimbabwe.

The event usually bring together food and crafts vendors, musicians and other performers local leaders, religious leaders, men, women and children from all walks of life to meet up and have some fun as the festive summer season kicks in.

Many agree that is an opportunity to kick back and relax after working hard and surviving for so long through the cold winter season in New England.

AjabuAfrica.com will be well represented at the event to bring it to our readers who are far from the area.

Line up of performers for 2009 African Festival.

Alee McCaulley: Liberia Story teller   echosofafrica.blogspot.com/ 
Mamadou  Diop  (Senegal   West Africa playing  Ethnic rhythms WWW.Mamadou.com 
Worcester  Anglican Keyan Youth  cultural group.
Balla Tounkara (Mali-West Africa)   http://www.balla-tounkara.com/
Nigerian FYA Group
Morgana Mirage Egyptian Dancer (www.poet-in-motion.net/morgana)
JP Muruiri Fron Kenya
Kumba Sisters from Sierra Leone