This year marks the 11th Anniversary Celebration of the African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh and Wake County. This event annually attracts an estimated 40,000 people into the heart of downtown Raleigh with an amazing variety of African American themed art, merchandise, music, and cultural performances.
As a result of COVID-19, we had to pivot and reimagine the festival to a new, virtual experience. The 2020 African American Cultural Festival—A Virtual Experience September 5-6 will feature programming that can be viewed on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Our virtual programming will highlight elements from festivals of the past that include professional musical artists and performers that share the rich musical culture of the African American tradition; engaging programming for families and kids. In addition, we are going to host a virtual community roundtable discussion with elected officials and other community leaders, to engage in discussion around the pandemic, racism, voting, and more. There will also be a virtual financial roundtable discussion sponsored by Wells Fargo about financial strategies and information on assistance during COVID-19, and money management as we move beyond the pandemic.
The 2020 African American Cultural Festival—A Virtual Experience is going to be an engaging two days featuring programming that will appeal to attendees of all ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as promote, preserve, educate, celebrate, and engage our community to African American culture and heritage through artistic expression and education through our new virtual format.
