By Devorah Crable
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. and The Honorable Mattie Hunter, Illinois State Senator, 3rd Legislative District and Senate Majority Caucus Chair are the venerated community elders selected as the honorary Grand Baba and Grand Yeye. Together they will oversee the return of the 33rd Annual African Festival of the Arts to a LIVE celebration in Chicago’s historic Washington Park!
Africa International House USA, Inc. presents the Gala Saturday, August 27 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus. It is the official kick-off for Chicago’s largest celebration of Black culture which returns following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic under the theme, “Back to Culture. Back to Tradition.”
“We return encouraging all to come together as a community to re-connect and re-energize in the spirit of “harambee” which means “all pull together” in Kiswahili,” says. Patrick Woodtor, festival founder and president of Africa International House USA, Inc. “In the midst of the world’s turmoil, now is the time for us to unite as a community to find peace, strength and to determine new possibilities for our collective future.”
The much-anticipated traditional end-of-summer gathering returns in full regalia with over 200 vendors offering unique museum-quality wood carvings and masks to collectible fine art from all points of the African Diaspora. The family friendly celebration features non-stop entertainment and music that represents the full arc of global Black music expression including jazz, gospel, Afro-pop, and R&B from Kenya to Nigeria to South Africa and back home to Chicago!
The annual gathering affectionately called “our festival” among returning patrons has something for everyone! Visit: www.AfricanFestivalChicago.com for performance and ticket information for the gala and the 33rd Annual African Festival of the Arts.
