Sahan Journal24%
From Afrobeat stars, to Afro-Latinx roots, five festivals celebrate Minnesota’s connection to the diaspora 8%
By Gloria Ngwa19%
8/4/2026, 4:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Hasty Generalization, In-Group Bias, and Halo Effect, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 7.3% saturation with 113 hits. Analysis detected 827 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,548 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 17.8% and a BS Rank of 8% (26,101 of 28,112 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 92.80% of the article peer group.
Participants in traditional Nigerian clothing celebrate IgboFest at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park.
This year’s celebration runs from Friday, Aug. 7, to Saturday, Aug.
8.
Minnesota’s African communities will come together this summer for five festivals celebrating the African diaspora through music, food, fashion and cultural traditions.
Each festival offers a different way for African and Afro-diaspora communities to celebrate their heritage, preserve cultural traditions and connect with one another.
Two of them — Let’s Gidi Fest and IgboFest — take place on Aug. 8, bringing distinct African celebrations to the Twin Cities in different ways.
Dayo Olateju, founder of Let’s Gidi Fest, said the outdoor festival aims to bring more people on a larger scale to celebrate and experience one another’s culture.
“It’s different communities coming together [under] one roof — without the roof,” Olateju said.
“They get to experience different people’s culture via food and music, and it’s also a good thing for the community in terms of just coming together to celebrate.”
Olateju moved to Minnesota from Nigeria in 2010.
He said his interest in wanting to do Afrobeat concerts led to him starting Bel Curv Management Group, an entertainment and event production company.
His team was able to grow Bel Curv and started getting Afrobeats’ biggest artists such as Yemi Alade, Burna Boy and WizKid.
In 2024, Olateju and his team founded Gidi Bar and Lounge in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District and partnered with Bel Curv to launch Let’s Gidi Fest.
This year marks the festival’s second year, with Nigerian artists Flavour and Lojay to perform.
Trying different traditional foods gives people an opportunity to experience and learn about other cultures, said Olateju, and the live performances give attendees an opportunity to learn more about the Afrobeat artists from their culture.
“It’s a great thing that we’re putting this event [on] and creating these spaces for ourselves because if we don’t do it, no one else is really going to do it,” Olateju said.
Olateju hopes people coming to Let’s Gidi Fest are proud they have a festival like it in Minnesota, and they keep supporting the festival as they work to make it a staple in the community.
IgboFest brings Minnesota’s Igbo community together through traditional and cultural experiences while giving younger generations an opportunity to connect with their heritage.
Gala Night on Aug. 7 allows for people to dress in traditional Igbo attires.
The festival will feature masquerade displays, traditional dances performed by children and women, African clothing and bead vendors, and food vendors serving authentic Igbo dishes.
A Kids Zone will offer bouncy houses for children.
IgboFest is presented by the Ummne Cultural Association (UCA), a Minnesota nonprofit that works to preserve and pass down Igbo culture and heritage to younger generations.
“It’s a way of keeping our traditions and heritage alive,” said Michael Ojika, president of UCA, of the festival.
Especially with younger generations who haven’t been to their homeland, IgboFest gives them “an opportunity to replicate what life is all about in the Motherland back in Africa.”
The festival has been celebrating Igbo culture in Minnesota for 31 years, according to Ojika, with an estimated 10,000 people showing up annually.
He said it is “very healthy seeing other African communities together,” which brings the association joy.
IgboFest also gives African Americans who have never been to Nigeria an opportunity to learn about their ancestry at the festival’s workshops, ask questions and gives them a different angle of life, Ojika said.
“You’re bringing various communities together experiencing IgboFest,” Ojika said.
Ojika said festivals like IgboFest are important to prevent the culture from fading.
“Whether we’re still here or not, [the older generations] can still pass on that information to their own children,” Ojika said.
“So they’ll be that link between them and the people in the Motherland in Africa.”
He adds that it’s important to have these festivals in Minnesota in general, so other neighboring states can take notes.
“Minnesota is accommodating of their immigrants.
Their openness, willingness to mingle and to learn from their guests is very welcoming,” Ojika said.
Ojika said he is aware of Let’s Gidi Fest falling on Aug. 8, the same day as IgboFest, and is in the midst of planning to have Flavour at the IgboFest Gala Night.
This year’s Yamo Fest theme, “I Rep My Nation,” will showcase various African communities through a parade, traditional dances, DJ performances, live artists and food, fashion and educational vendors.
African festivals usually center on one country, but Yamo Fest wants many nations involved because they want that representation so attendees from those countries feel considered, said co-founder Karen Ajong.
Even the food vendors were selected to offer a variety of Africa’s many different cultures.
“When you talk to people outside of Africa, very often they consider Africa to be a country.
Africa is not a country,” Ajong said.
“Africa is made up of different nations.”
Yamo Fest started last year with around 70 to100 attendees, said Ajong, and they didn’t expect people to enjoy it so much.
That’s when the team decided this is something they wanted to expand upon.
There will be a VIP networking lounge where community businesses can showcase their resources.
Ajong said the initiative was created after Operation Metro Surge, which had an impact on immigrant communities in Minnesota.
She said the goal is to connect businesses with resources and support them behind the scenes.
“A lot of us Africans don’t know that we have organizations that we can come to, to start off and figure our way around the system,” Ajong said.
She said after the Yamo Fest team took a entrepreneurship and leadership course with the African Economic Development Solutions in St.
Paul, they were given the right resources to get started and that they “need to encourage more such initiatives to happen,” Ajong said.
“Yamo” is slang in Cameroonian meaning “enjoy,” said Ajong.
She said beyond people having fun and feeling valued, she hopes people create meaningful relationships outside the event to help promote one another.
She added that African festivals, such as the Let’s Gidi Fest, have different purposes, but work the same in creating a space for Africa in Minnesota.
“There can never be too many … There is a huge immigrant population in Minnesota,” Ajong said.
“Minnesota is probably one of the most immigrant-friendly states in the United States, so it’s only fair that we have that much representation as well.”
What: Let’s Gidi Fest, a celebration of African culture featuring food vendors, including Kenyan, Nigerian, and Jamaican, a photobooth, jewelry vendors, cultural experiences and a festival atmosphere.
There will be Afrobeat music and live performances, with Nigerian artists Flavour and Lojay are among the performers this year.
Date : Saturday, Aug.
8
Time : Noon to 10 p.m.
Location : Gidi parking lot, 322 N. 1st Ave., Minneapolis
Cost : $108.33 and up.
Tickets .
For more information: letsgidifest.com
A dancer in an elaborate costume participates in IgboFest 2025 at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park.
This year’s celebration kicks off with a gala on Friday, Aug. 7, and continues Saturday, Aug.
8.
Credit: Deji Kotila
What: A Nigerian cultural celebration that celebrates the Igbo culture, the ethnic group native to south-central and southeastern Nigeria.
There will be traditional African dishes and crafts, dance performances and vendors for attendees to shop.
The 2026 IgboFest Gala will take place on August 7th, and the IgboFest Festival will take place on August 8th.
Date: Friday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug.
8
Time: 11 a.m to 7 p.m. for festival, 5 to 11 p.m. for Gala Night
Location: North Hennepin Community College; Gala Night: Brooklyn Park Activity Center, 5600 85th Ave.
N., Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
Cost: $50 for Gala night, the festival is free
For more information: minneapolisnorthwest.com/events/annual-events-and-festivals/igbofest
What: A one-day celebration of African culture featuring live music and cultural performances, authentic African food, fashion showcases, entrepreneurship opportunities and family-friendly activities for the community.
Date: Saturday, Aug.
15
Time: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., (programming starts at noon according to director)
Location: Town Green Park, 7991 Main St., Maple Grove
Cost: $25 and up, prices vary.
Tickets .
For more information: yamofest.com
Minnesota African Cultural Festival
What: This festival is a celebration of African culture and heritage featuring traditional African dances and performances, authentic cuisines, small African business vendors and a cultural fashion show, featuring the festival’s All African Attire Gala Night taking place afterward.
Date: Saturday, Sept.
12
Time: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Gala: 7 p.m. to midnight
Location: Centennial Park, 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center.
Gala: Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, 7025 Northland Drive N., Brooklyn Park
Cost: Free.
Tickets .
For more information: onetikaronepeople.org
Afro Fest Minnesota 2026
What: Afro Fest Minnesota is a celebration of African and Afro-diaspora cultures featuring music, dance, art, fashion, food and community programming.
The festival brings together African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, African American and other communities with African roots.
Date: Saturday, Sept.
19
Location: Becker Park, 5530 Douglas Drive N., Crystal
Cost: $16.47 and up.
Tickets .
For more information: minnedex.com/afro-fest-mn
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Speakers
3speakers53%attributed speech726writer words
Selected voice
79%flagged-word coverageKaren Ajong
318 attributed words39% of attributed speech14% writer coverage
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