Held downtown near the train depot on South Commerce Street, the festival had people dancing in the streets and drew over 100 attendees to experience examples of African culture, contributed by the town’s growing African American community.
A driving force behind the event was Erick Kalenga, a pastor of His Village Church and a member of the Culpeper Town Council. Kalenga helped put the festival together in order to share African culture with the local community. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, he has spent over 20 years as a resident of Culpeper.
The pastor defined the word “Ubuntu” as meaning “I am because you are,” linking the definition to his meaning of humanity.
Kalenga credited a partnership between the church and the Culpeper Police Department for making the celebration a reality. “I can never say enough about the town of Culpeper, I’m very grateful to the town and the police department for being a part of this and making it a reality.”
Among the vendors participating was Ghana Jollof, a African-Caribbean restaurant chain with locations in Woodbridge, Fredericksburg and Hyattsville, Maryland. According to its website, it offers authentic West African cuisine and is namKalenga credited a partnership between the church and the Culpeper Police Department for making the celebration a reality. “I can never say enough about the town of Culpeper, I’m very grateful to the town and the police department for being a part of this and making it a reality.”
Among the vendors participating was Ghana Jollof, a African-Caribbean restaurant chain with locations in Woodbridge, Fredericksburg and Hyattsville, Maryland. According to its website, it offers authentic West African cuisine and is named after Joffof rice, a staple in celebrations and social gatherings in West Africa.
Another notable attendee was author K.D. Brown, who has lived in the Culpeper area for over 20 years. Brown’s most recent work, “Socks for Lil Eddie,” was released in May as a tribute to her son who had passed away in a car accident at the age of 27.
“Beautiful,” said Brown. “What’s happening today is just awesome. It’s needed, I love the culture, I love everything about it and I love how everybody in the community is coming out to take part.”
Brown and her husband, Pastor Garry Brown, remarked about the feelings of warmth and friendship brought on by the festival.
“It’s a wonderful thing to see the different cultures and people coming together, learning about each other and just celebrating and having a good time. Just people being together, it’s a beautiful thing,” said Pastor Brown.
Another individual who helped put the festival together was Cecile Andrix, a local real estate agent who works in the Fredericksburg area. She served as a coordinator for the vendors participating in the event.
“It’s very exciting, we’ve wanted to do it for a while. Everyone is very happy and we hope it’s the first of many to come.”
Andrix was also in the spirit of the festival wearing a wax from Senegal. Waxes are printed fabric used for women’s clothing in the area of Western Africa. Many members of the crowd also wore traditional clothing from many areas of the African continent.
“This is a great thing, we need more of these, everybody has been happy, things have been going real well and we’ve been getting a lot of people. Everything is real nice,” said Culpeper Town Mayor Frank Reaves Jr.
“This is a great thing, we need more of these, everybody has been happy, things have been going real well and we’ve been getting a lot of people. Everything is real nice,” said Culpeper Town Mayor Frank Reaves
