The 40th (AROBAINI) Annual International African Arts Festival / July 1st - 4th, 2011 10AM - 9PM Daily (Rain or Shine) Bklyn, NYC (Since 1971)

Official Website: iaafestival.org

WOW! This is so historic! Can you believe this awesome Africentric event had first started in 1971???

"AROBAINI" in the African Swahili language means "40" and it is so INCREDIBLE that International African Arts Festival has endured the test of time. I am so EXCITED for this upcoming EVENT!! I will see if I can pick up 2 more African necklaces for myself. I have them envisioned and what I want...

- ROD

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The 40th Annual International African Arts Festival will take place on Friday, July 1st thru Monday, July 4th, 2011 at Commodore Barry Park (Navy Street, between Park and Flushing Avenues, on the border between Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene) rain or shine.

This four-day annual arts and crafts festival includes an African Marketplace, dance and music performances, and fashion shows. The festival is dedicated to the preservation of art forms, traditions, and cultures of Africa and its diaspora.

For more information, visit: www.iaafestival.org or connect on Facebook.





IAAF MISSION

The International African Arts Festival (IAAF) is dedicated to the preservation of art forms, traditions, and cultures of Africa and its diaspora.

The IAAF perpetuates all the artistic traditions that stem from African cultural practices throughout the world. As a celebration of our fortieth anniversary the festivals theme this year is AROBAINI (Swahili for "forty"), the mission of the IAAF is to bring together traditional and contemporary arts of African Diaspora by creating a venue that provides programs for artistic expression, entrepreneurial economic opportunities, and shares cultural experiences with a diverse audience of patrons.

40 (AROBAINI) YEAR HISTORY

The International African Arts Festival began in 1971 as the African Street Carnival, a PTA’s block party fundraiser for an independent school in Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn with local entertainers, about 20 arts and crafts vendors, along with food prepared by the parents. Almost 2,000 people came to the event and it was a success.

The International African Arts Festival (IAAF) has been part of the Brooklyn’s cultural landscape for 40 years. Each year a committed team of Board members, consultants, part-time seasonal staff and volunteers, work together to transform a city park into an outdoor African cultural oasis that celebrates traditional and contemporary expression of various African cultural art forms.

Today, the IAAF is a community-based, non-profit organization that produces an annual event attracting an estimated 75,000 attendees from all over Brooklyn, New York City, the United States and from around the world.

In 2001 the IAAF relocated to Commodore Barry Park which is the third transition to a larger venue to accommodate its growing audience. The original line-up of local folk arts entertainment which has included dance companies such as Dinizulu African Dancers and Drummers, Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Dancers, emerging singers like Martha Redbone and many others continues to be an important part of the Festival’s programming.

Over the years, the stages of the Festival have featured renowned artists such as Blue Magic, The Mighty Sparrow, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, KRS-1, Lauryn Hill, India Arie; artists who grew to achieve national and international acclaim.

The small vendor market has grown into an African Marketplace with over a hundred micro-enterprise vendor/small business membership database of entrepreneurs. The market place offers an array of one of a kind, handcrafted, original designs of merchandise ranging from jewelry, urban fashion, t-shirts, body oils to imported African fabric, artifacts and furniture, original paintings, hand-carved marble sculptures and much more. In addition, the outdoor Food Court offers the community an array of talented cooks and chefs preparing a wide variety of scrumptious foods. The savory favors range from traditional soul food to spicy Caribbean dishes, to African, Latin, vegetarian food, seafood and even gourmet style
raw foods

The IAAF offers family focus entertainment and resources to the community.

UPDATE (Tuesday, July 5th, 2011):

I only took a few pics with my Nokia N900 Mobile Internet Device...

One of the more POWERFUL pictures was this art painting of the brutha with the AmeriKKKan flag noose around his neck. What was so interesting was that so many people were snapping pictures of that painting. It was almost paparazzi like as people stopped in their tracks at this particular vendor's tent. If I had the room and the duckets I would have bought it. The art piece absolutely RESONATED with so many African folks yesterday, myself included.

For me it just reaffirms the notion that I have not been, nor ever will be, a full human being in these United States of AmeriKKKa...