It’s been 20 years since the annual Africa Fest first started out as a little indoor get-together in downtown Madison. Since then the annual event, hosted by the African Association of Madison, Inc (AAM) in collaboration with UW-Madison African Studies Program, has blossomed into a huge family event at Milt McPike Central Park. This year, under the theme “Celebrating Africa’s Great Civilizations In The Diaspora” it will be held on Saturday, Aug. 18.
“We started Africa Fest back in 1998 and at that time we actually did it indoors at Monona Terrace. It was the beginning,” Ray Kumapayi, president of the African Association of Madison Inc., tells Madison365. “In 2006, we moved it outdoors to Warner Park on Madison’s north side and the festival grew.”
Four years ago, Africa Fest was moved to Central Park (now Milt McPike Park), located just east of the Capitol in a very supportive residential area where many people can walk, bike or bus to the event.
“The move to Central Park was great for us. People really seem to enjoy having Africa Fest there,” Kumapayi says. ” Folks are able to walk and ride their bikes there. It’s much closer, for most people, than Warner Park. Central Park is a beautiful park.”
Africa Fest is an annual community-based cultural and educational celebration which educates and promotes diversity by showcasing African cultural heritages to people in the greater Madison area. The festival features musicians, artists, performers, cooks, craftspeople, and scholars who will demonstrate, present, and discuss the cultural traditions of African immigrants.
This year’s Africa Fest 2018 will be showcasing the richness of great African civilizations through stage performances, arts and crafts, and the Taste of Africa.
The annual “Strides For Africa” – a 5k run/walk for all ages – will kick off the festival at 10 a.m. Registration fees for this event provide funds for the construction of potable water wells in rural Africa. These water projects have changed the lives of many people for the better in rural Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
“Whether people come for Strides for Africa or the Festival itself, I like the fact that everybody is engaged with the other people and you get to meet many people that you’ve never seen,” Kumapayi says. “It’s just great camaraderie.”
Africa Fest 2018 will also have food vendors and craft vendors of authentic African wares. There will be sensational local musicians and performers like Tani Diakite and the Afro Funk-Stars, Atimevu, Jam Ak Jam, Limanya, The Nigerian Masquerade, and more.
The continent of Africa is so very large and diverse: how hard is it to make sure Africa Fest is inclusive of everybody?
“It is very difficult to represent everybody because Africa is so big and diverse,” Kumapayi says. “When you talk about 54 nations, we’re just trying to be the umbrella organization for all of these different people … It’s not an easy task. We try to reach out as much as possible to make Africa Fest as diverse as possible.
“We have a list and we try to include every segment of the African immigrants,” he adds. “We like to think that Africa Fest brings everybody together.”
Founded in 1991, the African Association of Madison, Inc. is a federally recognized non-profit organization that serves as a forum to unite in purpose and bring together people of African descent and friends of Africa in Madison and its vicinity. Kumapayi estimates that their membership is now at about 250 people.
“There are a lot more Africans than that in town. I know that,” he says. “Every time we have Africa Fest, we see new people that we haven’t seen before.”
Africa Fest is not the only other event that The African Association of Madison hosts.
“We do many other events. We do graduation events for recent graduates,” Kumapayi says. “We provide scholarships for high school students who are going on to college. We host a picnic.”
An Africa Pre-Fest Night, a little sneak peek into the following day, will be held on Friday, Aug. 17, 5-10 p.m. – also at Milt McPike Park. Artists that will be featured include Tani Diakite, Sista Sensi Reggae, Atimevu and All Africa Music Jamboree.
“We’ve added a Friday event to Africa Fest which we started last year,” Kumapayi says. “This year we’re really trying to get a crowd out to Milt McPike Park for that. It should be fun.”
Admission is free to the general public for Africa Fest although donations are welcome. Kumapayi is expecting a diverse audience of all ages and races who are interested in learning about the rich cultures of Africa from Africans.
“The main theme for this event is building bridges in communities and we would like to outreach to every community possible – doesn’t matter if you are Latino, Asian, white, black,” he says. “Of course, we outreach to all Africans, not only those who originated in Africa, but those from Jamaica, Haiti, the Caribbean, and in South America.
“It’s a multicultural and educational event,” he adds, “that also happens to be a lot of fun.”
