Afrochella is Ghana’s premier festival of the year, highlighting Africa’s thriving community of creatives and entrepreneurs while celebrating the continent’s art, food, music, culture, and history.
The festival will be hosted by MC/entertainment journalist Lolade Olayokun, actor Charles Okocha, and comedian Young Prince and attended by over 10,000 music lovers who saved for months and traveled from all across America, Australia, London, and more to be surrounded by 400 years of history. This event is so grand that the festival’s official flight sponsor, South African Airways, has offered up to 15% off all flights to Accra.
Since last year’s event, CEO Abdul Karim Abdullah has maximized his organized team to help raise awareness for hunger and aiding the youth through new charity initiatives.
Afrochella Feeds will provide over 500 meals to people in Accra and other undeveloped neighborhoods via Afro Food Trucks, a highlight at the festival. Promoting quality education, Afrochella Reads will help aid in renovating the Genesis School of orphans in Jamestown since its demolition earlier this year. “This is the most important part of the initiative because without the renovations the children have no place to learn and create,” said Communications Lead Danica Samuel.
This year’s theme, “Diaspora Calling,” focuses on displaying how African culture has transcended across borders for centuries while still paying homage to its roots. A 12-day celebration of Africa through live music performances, discussions, art exhibits, leading to the main event Afrochella, the official closing festival for the Year of the Return on December 28th.
Discover how to make traditional jollof rice and other popular African dishes at the Afro Chop Bar for an authentic taste of Ghana. Take a journey through Nigerian photographer Amarachi Nwosu’s At A Glance photo exhibit of the Slave Castles of Cape-Coast, where thousands of slaves were held captive. Today, the Cape Coast is a vibrant fishing port lined with colorful boats and kids running around.
Organizers purposefully added fashion installations, noticing the apparent fashion-forward aesthetic each year. Imagine thousands walking around in African-print and elegance, wearing braids, locs, twists, and other naturally curly hairstyles for Royalty Night at the New Years Gala and Awards ceremony on January 1st, 2020. This is what you can expect this year at Afrochella.
“Afrochella is looking to produce an unimaginable event this year,” according to Production Lead Kelvin Quartey. “We are welcoming home African talent, music, and culture from all over the globe. It’s a celebration.”
Africa is in a hyper-alert state, fueling people to understand how to take better care of themselves when it comes to health and wellness. When CEO Abdul Karim Abdullah was younger, he recalled his father making comments about people in Africa walking around with diabetes and not even knowing it. In his culture, health wasn’t something that was discussed at home and going to the doctor was somewhat taboo. There weren’t community health centers at the time.
He mentioned Ghanaian television series Things We Do For Love and Yolo as his only points of reference when it came to learning about cleanliness, your health status, and what it meant to take care of yourself. He hopes to use this platform to create funding mechanisms to help establish Africa’s pharmaceutical structure. He wants to show the government the benefits and importance of investing in the people.
“I want to empower people on the continent to do their research and help their own communities,” says Abdullah. “I think community health centers are one of the ways you change that. People can go in and get the information they need about the importance of knowing your health status.”
Although Afrochella organizers have yet to disclose their steller star entertainment lineup, the festival has organized a list of tempting tour experiences and events, allowing guests to experience Ghana like a local. Stroll through Ghana’s romantic Aburi Gardens, spend time with the animals at the Shai Hills Reserve, or feast on authentic Ghanaian cuisine while visiting the country’s landmarks on a food crawl.
Other exhibits and artists to look forward to include some of Ghana’s artists: award-winning graffiti painter Mohammed Awudu, Dennis Owusu-Ansah, and visual character storytelling by Artsoul Kojo.
Afrochella will be held Saturday, December 28, 2019, at the El Wak Stadium in Accra. Ticket prices and packages on sale now at Afrochella.com.