A new festival that celebrates African culture is making its way to D.C. starting on Monday, Oct. 9.
The Capital City Africa Week Festival will feature a week’s worth of free events, including an opening ceremony and an exhibition from Ghanaian artists. To finish the week’s line-up, organizers are putting together a friendly soccer match – billed as the Capital City Africa Cup – between D.C. United and the champions of the Ghana Premier League, Medeama SC, on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Audi Field.
The festival will also include fashion pop-ups, music, dance performances, workshops, and authentic cuisine. Local vendors will also sell handmade crafts through the festival’s “Ghana Village” on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
“This momentous occasion not only brings our vibrant Ghanaian culture to the forefront but also strengthens the bonds of friendship and partnership between our two nations,” said Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s Ambassador to the U.S, in a statement.
Ghana is serving as the inaugural visiting country this year, but future festivals will celebrate other African countries. Paxton Baker, a local businessman who helped organize the festival, says this year’s event is only the beginning.
“D.C. is such a melting pot of a wide array of different culture – it feels sometimes that pretty much most of the races and countries on Earth have some citizens here in Washington,” says Baker, a minority owner for the Washington Nationals.
“Ultimately the long term goal is to [bring] an Ethiopian team, to bring a Nigerian team, to bring a team from Cameroon and Senegal, et cetera, and grow it as we move into the future.”
Ahead of the club friendly, Howard University will host a soccer clinic on Thursday, Oct. 12 for both the university men’s and women’s teams to train alongside Ghana’s Medeama SC.
According to organizers, which include the Embassy of Ghana, the festival is meant to amplify the shared values and diasporic ties between the District and African nations through sports. There will also be several business investment forums – including one on the tourism industry in both the D.C. region and Ghana – at Howard University’s Blackburn Center Digital Auditorium. They’ll discuss the sports industry as a platform for economic and social development.
Tickets for the club friendly on Saturday, Oct. 14 are now available and start at $20. All other events are free and open to the public, per the event organizers.