Rhythms Divine: Thousands pick up the beat at Africa Day

HUNDREDS OF performers, writers, artists and chefs from Cameroon to Mozambique brought the sunshine with them to Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens yesterday for the fourth annual Africa Day festival.

The festival, organised by Irish Aid, the Government’s overseas development programme, attracted several thousand people. Queues for the entry gate at Clonmel Street stretched back as far as St Stephen’s Green at one point in the afternoon.

The main draw of the event was the music, with the main stage attracting an impressive line-up of African and Irish performers including Choice Music Prize winner Jape, Congolese musician Niwel Tsumbu, Dave Flynn, the Amazing Few, the Discovery Gospel Choir and the Newpark Afro-Cuban Orchestra.

Stage Two featured African and Irish rappers, hip-hop artists, DJs and bands including Fabu-D, DJ Kings, Vusi, Dub Civilization, Funzo, Madu, Tony Kumbu, Kosa ’n’ Addy and Groovalizacion.

Children weren’t left out with a huge range of activities on offer, including drumming and dancing workshops, puppet shows, quizzes and jigsaw competitions, a giant game of snakes and ladders, a demonstration on making traditional Ugandan toys from banana leaves and the opportunity to take part in other arts, crafts activities and sports.

Food stalls were a big draw. A lone burger seller was swamped by dozens of exotic offerings, including Zanzibar prawns in coconut and marsala sauce, zaalouk served with crusty bread, Moroccan lamb stew, Nigerian barbecue, Piri-Piri chicken, cinnamon baked bananas, fried plantain and bean cake. Queues were long, with the Ethiopian Food Company’s lamb and chicken curries proving particularly popular.

Education and awareness events were a major part of the day with stalls showing how to swap your favourite products for fair trade ones, a photographic exhibition Because I Am A Girl, which highlights the plight of girls in the developing world, and cultural and information exhibitions from a number of aid organisations and charities.

These included Trócaire, Plan Ireland, World Vision and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

A “speakers’ corner” marquee held a number of demonstrations and debates.

There were cookery demonstrations from Abraham Phelan of the Silk Road Cafe in Dublin’s Chester Beatty Library and food writer Donal Skehan. Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power took part in a debate on Ireland’s engagement with Africa, while the Africa Day Book Club discussed Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

The festival was one of several events to celebrate Africa Day on May 25th. Details of other events around the country are available at www.africaday.ie