AUGUSTA, GA. (WJBF) – A big event is making its return to the Augusta Common on August 12th the 2nd Annual CSRA Afro Caribbean Fest. It’s a family friendly event that will showcase many different cultures. There will even be a Afro Caribbean Cookoff which will consist of multiple countries cooking their rice dishes.

To find more about the event we invited some of the organizers to give us a rundown about what to expect.

So for those who don’t know tell us what is this event, and what can people expect to see?

“So this event is a well-rounded event, centered about education. So what we’re trying to do is educate everyone on the African and Caribbean cultures. So that relationship to be better, the better we understand each other, the better we’ll be able to relate to each other. So we trying to build bridges and just get everybody informed on who we are, what we stand for, why we do what we do, how we do, what we do, and what better way to do it, then to make it a festival,” said Co-Founder/Organizer, Morris Porter.

Why is it important to highlight other peoples cultures?

“Well, it’s always a misunderstanding. You know, media put out a lot of different things and people are so influenced by the media, it’s it’s better when you hear it or see it from the horse’s mouth, you know. So if you hear it from a guy from Nigeria, this is how we do, what we do, and why we do it.”

What kind of activities will there be?

“Look, there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of moving parts. We got the authentic food from our two cultures. So that’s going to bring everybody out, right? The food is awesome. Then we got a we got a fashion show.”

Talk to me about the fashion show.

“I’m from Ghana so we basically bring all of our authentic clothing from Ghana, everything is made in Ghana, and we’re bringing Africa right to the CSRA. So my motto is they’re getting ready and we just bring we have, you know, dresses, skirts, any occasion that you want to go to in an African wear,” said Akosua Quarshie.

Is this a free event, do you have to get tickets?

“So this is a free event. You know, we want people to come out and learn something. So we don’t want to have to pay to learn. So we want them to have fun. So this free family event, there’s going to be presenters from the different countries as well that will talk to everyone about, you know, their particular country. We got performers from different countries. We got some cultural dances, even the kids going to perform. So yeah, it is going to be a fun day for with just learning and fellowship,” said Porter.

Now, I want to know a little bit about the history of this event and how it all came about.

So me and my buddy, Paul from Nigeria, I’m from America, and we we formed a relationship and we just started talking small talk, and I would ask some questions about Nigeria and he would say, you know, why do you know Americans do this or why Americans do that?
So we were just trying to figure out, what’s what’s a good way to put what we’re learning from each other out to the community. So we said, hey, let’s let’s put something together. What brings people together? Food and music.

What do you want people to walk away with from this event?

“To me the way I see this event people come around because when you look back, when you hear an accent, the first thing you’re going to say is ‘where are you from.’ You’re from Jamaica or you’re from Africa, and that’s it, you’re locked in, in a box. So with this event, we try to educate people. We have the right resources there so if you have questions we can grow, we can have good communication, understanding background where we’re from, not just what you see on tv, or not just what you hear on the radio. We all are one, but there’s a big gap in between us, so we’re here to educate people,” said Paul Okojie.

The 2nd Annual CSRA Afro Caribbean Fest is happening on August 12th at the Augusta Commons from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Before they left we were given a sneak peek of one of the musical performances. Musical Artist Sydeajah from St. Croix took to the stage to let us know what expect at the event.