Desi Today Magazine
Surrey, BC – The City of Surrey announced today that it will be featuring Africa – alongside other diverse cultures from around the world – at this year’s Fusion Festival. The new Celebrate Africa zone, presented in partnership with the African Heritage Festival of Music and Dance (AHFOMAD), will celebrate the continent’s vibrant history, music, dance and cuisine at Holland Park on July 20 and 21.
“Surrey Fusion Festival is a platform to celebrate and learn about diverse cultures from around the world,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “We are excited to highlight Africa at this year’s free family event, and we look forward to seeing our community come together to experience this wonderful and vibrant culture.”
The Celebrate Africa zone’s AHFOMAD Stage will showcase music and dance from Africa over the two days. Headlining the stage on Saturday is emerging Nigerian afro-pop artist, Peruzzi, who’s single Mata reached over 500K views on YouTube. The stage will also see performance from musicians from Cameroon, Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, St. Vincent and Mauritius. In addition to a variety of performances in the Celebrate Africa zone, the festival will feature African co-headlining performances on the Concord Pacific World Music Stage by international Nigerian afro-pop star 2Baba and Congolese recording artist Ferre Gola on Saturday night.
Attendees can explore an African Village market where local vendors will showcase and sell art, textiles and other goods from the continent. It will also feature a Democratic Republic of Congo food pavilion selling traditional dishes containing fish, meat or beans with plantain, coconut rice and salad. Additionally, the cultural pavilion will educate attendees on the transformative power of Congolese sapeurs – a fashion movement in the country that encourages dressing in couture and high-end garments, as well as share the culture of Nigeria’s Igbo people through a masquerade and women’s dance.
“AHFOMAD is designed to immerse and educate the public on African arts, culture and heritage,” said Patrick Onukwulu the Artistic Director of AHFOMAD, “We are very excited that the City of Surrey is celebrating this and showcasing Africa’s cultural legacy at Fusion Festival this year.”
Additional African cultural pavilions including Ghana, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. The Celebrate Africa zone will be located South of the main entrance at Gate 5, closest to the King George SkyTrain Station.
For more information visit www.surreyfusionfestival.ca
