The African Festival of Boston (AFOB) stands as a vibrant testament to the rich cultural tapestry of the African diaspora in the city. Mireille Tushiminina launched the African Festival of Boston 13 years ago to celebrate the Independence Day anniversaries of many African countries, including her native Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Boston is home to a large population of African immigrants hailing from Somalia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and dozens of other countries on the African continent and around the world. But the city’s African diaspora is “so disconnected as a community,” said Mireille Tushiminina, lead coordinator for the annual African Festival of Boston.
That’s why 12 years ago, Tushiminina decided to start a festival that would “create a common ground” - a place where African Bostonians who speak different languages and have different cultural traditions could come and celebrate together. Tushiminina, together with the Shalupe Foundation, which she has worked with for many years, launched the first African Festival of Boston in 2010. The Shalupe Foundation focuses on supporting refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo fleeing violence, particularly gender-based violence.
A Celebration of Unity and Culture
According to festival literature, this is the largest African festival in New England. This vibrant event will showcase the best of African culture, heritage, and community, bringing together local and international artists, performers, vendors, and families for an immersive cultural experience!
“I am Ethiopian and a Roxbury native, so this is really the best to celebrate our legacy,” says Ra Kiros. “I really appreciate the beautiful melting pot of cultural diversity in Boston.
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Of course, unifying Boston’s African community is not the same thing as “lumping everybody together,” as the festival’s co-emcee Leonard Tshitenge explains often happens. Tshitenge also serves as one of the festival’s programming managers, and in that role asks himself: “how do you make sure that those that don’t get the spotlight, don’t get to shine, are visible?”
He said this year’s event will provide opportunities for the broader African community in Boston to experience and enjoy food, music, dance, and more from African countries and cultures that are often underrepresented.
The AFOB is a major public festival held in the Boston Common with the goal of promoting and celebrating African cultures, histories, and identities. The festival features the best of local African arts and culture and receives thousands of visitors.
The crowd enjoys a performance at a previous year’s festival.
Highlights of the Festival
The diverse set of programming is part of the appeal of the festival. “That’s how we see the growth and new attendance every year.” And grow it has. What began as a small celebration now sees hundreds of people each year. “It’s quite exciting because it started as a small thing, hey, let’s celebrate,” says Tushiminina.
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Culture will certainly be plentiful at the festival. Moroccan dance group Lionesses El Atlas will perform, and festivalgoers can take African dance classes throughout the weekend with The Dance Complex.
For the first time in the festival’s history, a female DJ will preside over its tunes, a change Tushiminina is particularly excited about. DJ Lady Ly has been coming to the AFOB for about 10 years and plans to bring the “versatility” she is known for to this year’s celebration. She said she’s fond of cross-cultural “blending,” like playing Trinidadian Soca music alongside West African Afrobeats.
Tushiminina said the festival also has a just-announced female co-emcee, Vanessa Silva.
2015 African Festival of Boston Highlights
What to Expect:
- Live Performances: Enjoy a diverse lineup of African music, dance, and art
- Cultural Exhibits: Dive into African arts, crafts, and history
- Authentic Cuisine: Taste delicious African dishes from around the continent
- Workshops & Panels: Engage with community leaders and youth empowerment activities
- Fashion Shows & Art Markets: Shop and explore unique African fashion and art
African crafts and jewelry on display at a previous year’s festival.
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Educational Initiatives and Community Engagement
Education will be at the forefront of the festival as well. Representatives from Boston University’s African Studies Center K-16 Education Outreach Program will provide educational activities for the youth participants of the festival. New to the festival this year is the Cultural Book Heritage Village highlighting local African authors and their work.
Author and illustrator Thato Rantao Mwosa will share one of her latest works, “14 African Women Who Made History.”
The African Studies Center (ASC) was proud to participate in the 14th annual African Festival of Boston (AFOB) on August 17th and 18th. In addition to staffing an informational booth about the Center’s programs and offerings, the BU ASC led a major aspect of the festival, the “Children’s Cultural Village,” in which we created a mobile library bringing Children’s Africana Book Award books to the public.
There was fun and learning for adults as well as children as we partnered with Zoma Coffee to put on a full Ethiopian coffee ceremony and tasting and also held African trivia games. We engaged many members of the public through our popular How Big is Africa poster and curriculum for teachers, shared information about our language instruction and discussed the resources available at our world-class African Studies Library.
In addition to the local nonprofits that set up information booths throughout the festival, health care providers and community organizers have the chance to come and speak about their work during the festival’s open mic periods.
Support and Future Celebrations
The festival currently has two major sponsors: the Boston Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. (ArtsEmerson has also contributed.) Tushiminina’s volunteer team of 10 raises funds and helps support the event out of their own pockets.
“We ended up, as individuals, supporting the event because we do believe in [it],” Tushiminina said.
Collectively, the festival has helped to build a huge “network,” Tushiminina said, that strengthens the entire African community in Greater Boston.
Bostonian Africans working together, Tushiminina said, means greater change is possible: “when you bring a critical mass, people tend to shake and move.”
This is not just an event - it's a celebration all week long! Be sure to join us for the largest African cultural celebration in Boston.
The ASC team has recently been celebrating the return to school by tabling at events and sharing information about our language offerings, our speaker series and our community events.
