PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The food, the clothing, the dance, the music, the culture — Odunde is a feast for the senses. It was started 48 years ago by the mother of Oshunbumi Fernandez-West, the festival’s CEO, and the celebration is still going strong.
Fernadez-West says this year's celebration will include something for everyone: “I want you to come and enjoy the food, enjoy the African art, 15 city blocks, over 100 arts-and-crafts and food vendors, two stages of live entertainment — we’re lit!” Fernandez-West said. “Odunde is lit! We want everybody to understand that!”
A week worth of interactive educational events begins on June 5, leading to the big festival on Sunday, June 11. Monday is a celebration of Odunde’s entrepreneur program. Tuesday features a yoga program at LOVE Park. Free T-shirts will be given away on Wednesday. And Thursday celebrates Odunde’s fashion design program.
Sunday’s street fair will encompass 15 blocks, centered on the intersection of South and 23rd streets. Ambassadors visiting Philadelphia from Sin Tanzania, Cameroon, Liberia and Ghana will embark on tours of the city, and they will participate in a roundtable discussion at Temple University’s Charles L. Blockson library.
Related
Mayor Jim Kenney says Odunde has a tremendous impact on the city’s economy.
“The festival has grown into the largest celebration of African American culture and heritage on the East Coast. What began as a small gathering of 50 now attracts nearly half a million visitors from around the world and has a $20 million economic impact on the city of Philadelphia,” the mayor said.
Odunde, Inc., is now a world-renowned cultural organization, based in Philadelphia, whose mission is to educate the public about African and African American culture. This year, they will celebrate 25 years of their entrepreneur program, “I AM B.U.M.I.” — or “I am beautiful, unique, magnificent, individual” — part of the Odunde 365 initiative, created in 2011 to make cultural programming available year round.
Here, middle school students are taught how to start and own a business. For nine weeks they make their product, come up with a company name, create a logo — and finally sell their goods.
Odunde, a word that originates from the Yoruba culture in Nigeria, means “happy new year.” Wanda Dickerson, with the Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble in Camden, N.J., which will be performing traditional dances during the festival, says Odunde is a time to express joy and to give thanks.
“There's a lot of things going on. Our Black boys are killing one another. Black men are killing Black men, and this is saddening,” Dickerson said. “So when we come together on Odunde, it’s happy! So it's a good thing.”
Related
Related
More information about the festival and Odunde 365 are available at Odundefestival.org. Merchandise is available at Odundefestivalshop.org.