Sankofa returning to Suffolk

By Tracy Agnew (Contact) | Suffolk News-Herald

Published Saturday, May 30, 2009

Suffolk Parks and Recreation’s 4th annual Sankofa Festival will be held next weekend.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. June 5 and continuing throughout the day June 6, the Sankofa Festival is “a celebration of African-American music and culture,” said Lakita Frazier, the director of Suffolk Parks and Recreation.

“Sankofa,” in the tradition of the African country of Ghana, means “go back and take,” or more poetically, “always remember the past, for therein lies the future.”

“This year, we’re focusing on our local talent,” Frazier said.

With June being African-American Music Month, musical traditions from jazz to hip-hop will be celebrated through various musicians performing during the two-day festival.

On June 5 from 5:30-9 p.m., JuJu and the After Hours Band will perform jazz classics at Constant’s Wharf Park and Marina, 110 E. Constance Road. Wine and cheese tickets are available for purchase at $35 for an individual ticket, $60 for two tickets and $240 for a table of six. Advance purchase is necessary.

Saturday’s events stretch from noon to 8:30 p.m. and will include music, dance, food and merchandise vendors, along with children’s activities, performances by the FAME talent competition winners and a poetry slam hosted by local poet Nathan Richardson. The music will include gospel and hip-hop, Frazier said. Children’s activities will include face painting and arts and crafts. The night will conclude with a free concert by Slapwater at 6:30 p.m.

“This is about looking at where we’ve been and where as a community we’ve come,” Frazier said. “We’re going to celebrate the things that have made all of us in the Suffolk community stronger.”

For more information or to purchase wine and cheese tickets, call 514-7267. The Sankofa Festival is sponsored by the October at Fair Downs Community.

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