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Four day African American Kuumba Festival kicks off today

kuumba festival knoxville
Market Square and Krutch Park will be filled with festival-goers for the annual Kuumba Festival.
Image courtesy of the Kuumba Festival.

KNOXVILLE — The annual Kuumba Festival kicks off today in Krutch Park at Market Square in downtown Knoxville. This multi-event celebration serves as the largest African American Cultural Arts Festival in East Tennessee. Entertainers, demonstrations, live music performances, dancing and an African Marketplace featuring crafts and food vendors fill this four day and four night event. The festival takes place at multiple locations throughout Knoxville during the month of June.

On Friday, June 20, there will be a Junkanu Parade in downtown Knoxville and a live concert on Market Square.

On Saturday, June 21, events includes a community-wide West African Dance workshop, African Marketplace and concerts at Chilhowee Park with Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have risen like a phoenix out of the ashes of war and enflamed the passions of fans across the globe with their uplifting songs of hope, faith and joy. The band is a potent example of the redeeming power of music and the ability of the human spirit to persevere through unimaginable hardship and emerge with optimism intact. From their humble beginnings in West African refugee camps Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and matured into one of Africa’s top touring and recording bands. The band has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, opened for Aerosmith, contributed a song to the Blood Diamond film soundtrack, participated in the U2 tribute album In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, and earned praise and backing from Sir Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Ice Cube, Angelina Jolie and others. For more on their amazing and inspiriting story, check out sierraleonesrefugeeallstars.com

Gospel in the Park and African Marketplace will be held on Sunday, June 22, at Chilhowee Park along with the 25th Anniversary Closing Ceremony.

Park gates open to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday.

Schedule of events for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday, June 21
Kuumba Festival at Chilhowee Park
11am-10pm - Enjoy the African Market Place with traditional crafts, clothing, and foods; the World Children’s Village and entertainment throughout the day.
9am-1pm - The First Kuumbathon at the Health and Wellness area featuring a fusion of dance and drum workouts with Sister Zock 2pm-4pm - Knoxville Zoo display and showcase
6:30-7:30pm - Kuumba Watoto Dance and Drum Company and the original Free Spirit Stilt Walkers
8pm-10pm - Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Starts at Chlhowee Park

Sunday, June 22
Kuumba Festival at Chilhowee Park
12noon-9pm - Enjoy the African Market Place with traditional crafts, clothing, and foods; the World Children’s Village and entertainment throughout the day
3pm-6pm - Gospel in the Park
6pm-7:30pm - Kuumba Watoto Dance and Drum Company and the original Free Spirit Stilt Walkers
7:30-9pm - Concert

For more information, please visit www.kuumbafestival.com.

Published June 19, 2014




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