Building ‘bridges and understanding,’ the Tubman’s Pan African Festival starts Saturday

Don’t overlook the Tubman Museum’s Pan African Festival this Saturday and Sunday. It will be spread outdoors across the grounds of the Macon Coliseum/Centreplex to facilitate a safe COVID-19-era gathering and its theme is “We’re Better Together.”

Tubman executive director Harold Young said this year’s event, the 25th, is more a celebration than a festival and that its theme was is purposeful.

“Our goal as a museum is to educate and to highlight contributions stemming out of Africa and the impact made by African Americans on our and other’s art, history and culture — our ways of life,” Young said. “That highlights African American culture and accomplishments but recognizes all cultures and people and allows us to celebrate together, hear from one another and learn from one another, sometimes just by having fun together as friends and families.

“The festival is for the whole community and the theme, ‘We’re Better Together,’ was not selected to mean African Americans are better together but that we’re all better together. The festival is a means to build bridges and understanding and to have a lot of fun doing it. So, yes sir, the festival is meant for everyone in every part of the community.”

Entry is a reasonable $5 with funds going to museum education programs which Young said are expanding at the Tubman through camps and other activities.

Day one, Saturday, begins at 11 a.m. and feature vendors, food trucks, arts and crafts, kids play area and other family fun with live entertainment including storytelling, singing, dancing and high profile acts from near and far, including the popular local group, The Johnny Hollingshed Band.

Sunday is the festival’s Praise Fest and things start at 1 p.m. It too features nationally celebrated acts and includes Macon native Charles King, a popular worship leader and CCM recording artist.

Across days, music includes many styles of soul, blues, jazz, hip hop, gospel and more.

“We’ve all been cooped up for a year and I guess part of the celebration is just getting out and being together to enjoy the weekend with its music and food and all – even though we’ll all be wearing masks and are set up for social distancing,” Young said. “We took our cue from the Cherry Blossom Festival where everything went well and people had a great time. We really appreciate everyone at the coliseum and all they’ve done to help us put this together.”

Young said masks will be available for those without them and all the expected sanitizing efforts will be in place.

But he said getting out and about isn’t the only reason to celebrate.

“It’s been quite a year of change and we’re celebrating all the positive things that have happened and are still happening,” he said.

For instance, Young noted strides nationally such as this year seeing the first female, African American elected U.S. vice president and locally the election of the first female, African American district attorney.

Young and company have gone to great lengths to create a safe event space, to bring top national and local artists performing family-friendly music, and to provide more than a dozen food trucks and almost 60 vendors offering T-shirts, other attire, art, jewelry and more as well as creating gobs of fun things for kids. But all that may pale compared to the simple opportunities to interact, have conversations, get a kick out of the antics of one another’s kids and share a hopefully pretty day while building bridges and relationships among and between individuals and communities.

“This is the only way we can change things for all our good,” Young said. “We’ve got to do it together by understanding and appreciating each other a little more. No matter what the title of this festival is, we want it to be a celebration by humans of different cultures enjoying and learning from each other with all our uniqueness and our commonalities.”

That’s the real reason the Pan African Festival shouldn’t be overlooked. And maybe go and buy a cupcake to enjoy – yes, Young said there will be cupcakes – and maybe buy more and make a new friend or two to talk to and share them with.

That might make a surprising difference and help fulfill the festival’s purpose.

There’s information on the event and particular acts performing at tubmanmuseum.com.

If you’re uneasy about getting out or want something to do Friday evening, consider The Douglass Theatre’s “A Night at the Douglass Virtual Series” online at 8 p.m. More information on that free presentation is at douglasstheatre.org and facebook.com/thedouglasstheatre.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.