June 24, 2004
Organizers:
African Festival this weekend brings cultures together
MICHAEL
LAFLEUR, Sun Staff
LOWELL Organizers
of the city's fourth annual African Festival say
their event will be a multifaceted celebration of all cultures,
religions and nationalities represented in Lowell's growing
African immigrant community.
The event, scheduled for Saturday from
11 a.m. until 7 p.m., will be held at the Sampas Pavilion, off
Pawtucket Boulevard, in the Lowell Heritage State Park.
Event coordinator Gordon Halm hopes to highlight African clothing,
foods, crafts, culture and dance.
"In Africa, everyone is proud of their own country," Halm said. "With
the festival, it's putting all those differences aside and coming
together as an African. All the African people get together to
have this sort of celebration and to know ourselves better and
our cultures better."
Besides Halm, who is Ghanian, other organizers include Lee Forusa of Zimbabwe;
Mariatou Dumbuya of Sierra Leone; Fru Nkimbeng, Khien Nkimbeng and Judy Tadford
of Cameroon; and Cecilia Okafor and Robert Omoyeni of Nigeria.
The choice of the Sampas Pavilion as the festival site is a sign of the event's
growth. Past festivals were held at the city's JFK Civic Plaza. Halm said he
expects as many as 1,000 to attend this year.
From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., the festival will feature Christian, Muslim and traditional
African prayer ceremonies as well as a tribute to its late DJ, Ahmed Sasey, 54,
who died last week, Halm said.
Mayor Armand Mercier and several other city officials also are expected to attend,
as is Lura Smith, special assistant to Middlesex Community College President
Carole Cowan, the event's guest speaker.
An African fashion show and traditional cultural performances will follow from
1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, call Halm at (978) 458-4376 or Lowell's African Assistance
Center at (978) 453-6677.
Michael Lafleur's e-mail address is mlafleur@lowellsun.com.
(c) 2004 The Sun
(Lowell, MA). All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission
of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
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