About Us

Dancers in kente cloth with shekeres and stilt walker parade down Fayetteville Street

The African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh and Wake County is an annual celebration of African American culture as expressed through art, music, food and community. The festival has become Raleigh's premiere destination for teaching, sharing, and celebrating the distinctive folk and cultural traditions of African Americans here in North Carolina and from around the world.

Festival History

The festival program plan was developed under the guidance of the African American Cultural Festival Governing Board, whose members were appointed by the Wake County Board of Commissioners and Raleigh City Council in August 2008. Both elected bodies charged the Governing Board with creating a major festival that would become an outstanding tourist destination event. Artsplosure, the organization responsible for many Triangle arts events including the annual Spring Arts Festival, and First Night Raleigh on New Year’s Eve was contracted to provide planning, organizational, and financial expertise, among other essential services in 2009. The inaugural festival was held on September 4th and 5th, 2010 and exceeded expectations, with more than 15,000 in attendance.

During 2010 the AACF secured its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. In 2013, the fiscal agent partnership with Artsplosure was discontinued, and the Governing Board of Directors assumed sole responsibility of planning, managing, and operating the festival. The 2019 Labor Day event brought more than 38,000 people downtown and featured ninety juried artists and merchandise vendors, a vibrant African Marketplace, the Family Village with crafts, and the new Creativation Station; an interactive space for kids of all ages with entertainment geared toward children and families, as well as local and national musical acts on the Main Stage on City Plaza. The festival continues to grow, and each year, the Governing Board and festival staff works toward the goal of bringing an engaging, lively, and educational festival to the heart of downtown Raleigh.