Afrifest Foundation Board Meeting, August 27

The board of the Afrifest Foundation held its meeting--via teleconference--this evening. We started with a review of this year's Afrifest, which was held on August 2.

We noted that the event went well, with an array of vendors and activities, including children's games, drumming, storytelling, and soccer games. The attendance was greater than last year.

We are glad to have been joined by the Multicultural Kids Network, which kept the children engaged with drumming and other activities. We look forward to the participation of Multicultural Kids Network in Afrifest next year and beyond.

We talked about what we have learned from this year and what we need to do for next year. Foremost among these is the need to start our planning early, reaching out to potential sponsors, vendors, and volunteers.

We reminded ourselves about the special nature of the mission of Afrifest, which is to showcase and celebrate the cultural achievements of Africans and the African Diaspora, promote education about the historical and global African experience. Afrifest distinguishes itself from many other organizations in that it fosters education and the spirit of Pan Africanism.

We also discussed our existing relationships with organizations such as the Council on Black Minnesotans, and affirmed our desire to cultivate relationships with various African organizations in the Twin Cities and beyond.

We are grateful to our volunteers, vendors, media partners, and the City of Brooklyn Park, whose support was crucial for the success of this year's Afrifest. We look forward to Afrifest 2016.

For photos and videos of this year's festival, please visit Afrifest 2015