Africa Day celebrations continued into the weekend as the Rastafari community of George in the Western Cape hosted its 6th annual Africa Day Liberation Festival at the Witfontein Nature Reserve at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains.
The celebrations were low-key for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s event saw people coming throughout the Garden Route and from other provinces.
The event was all about celebrating Africa and its people and commemorating the 59th anniversary of the founding of the African Union. This Arts and Culture Festival is mainly centered around music and fellowship. The annual event aims to foster community relations, knowledge and development.
Festival organiser Hein Scheepers says, “We still want a united Africa, as tedious as it is from the grassroots, academic spaces or any form. The aim of the festival is to foster Pan-Africanism in its true essence. We are curating education, arts, culture, sharing knowledge and sharing consciousness. This is the 6th year and it’s been growing. We will keep the community aware to celebrate the 25th of May.”
Locals also got a chance to celebrate with their community, whilst the event also witnessed travelers from beyond the Western Cape joining in the festivities. The event is also a fundraiser for the Rastafari community’s House of Judah tabernacle in George.
Festival-goers expressed the experience of the event as a joyful and fun one. One festival-goer said that “I’m enjoying myself a lot with friends from the Northern Cape and from the West as well. For us as women, it is going to promote togetherness. For us togetherness is happiness and we come together to promote unity amongst each race and culture.”
Video| Explaining Africa Day
