By Staff
The traditional song, dance and drum of the Afrikan Diaspora will be coming to downtown Dowagiac during next week's Dowagiac Fun Fest as "Mama Yah" brings her Afrojabe Afrikan Village cultural performing arts youth group to southwestern Michigan.
Vickie Phillipson, program director of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority (DDA) who coordinated this year's 20th-annual summertime bash, said she is pleased to host this exciting Afrikan Cultured Organization from Flint, which has appeared at Black Arts and Afrikan-American festivals across the Midwest.
The drum and dance group opens what Phillipson terms that evening's main stage entertainment at the Haggin-Wimberley Memorial Bandstand on Friday at 5 p.m. The three-day festival features more than 45 hours of vocal, instrumental and specialty entertainment, with performances occurring at two downtown locations, including the Beckwith Park and beneath the new Children's Entertainment Tent at Beeson and Depot Drive.
The approximate two-hour cultural performance from 5 to 6:45 p.m., which is open free of charge to the public, is being underwritten through a fine arts grant the Downtown Development Authority received from the St. Denys Foundation of Dowagiac.
Afrojabe Afrikan Village strives to bring the excitement and the dynamic energy of African drum and dance to wider audiences of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, as it encourages participation and enjoyment of rhythms and dances of the Diaspora.
Phillipson said Afrojabe is a Yoruba word for "King Maker." The Afrojabe Afrikan Village is a rite of passage and training program, which is dedicated to helping to create tomorrow's community leaders – or as the director of the group, Mama Yah, calls them -"the kings and queens of our communities."
Phillipson said Afrojabe Afrikan Village is a non-profit Afrikan Cultured Organization that offers young minds the opportunity to explore and enhance their inner talents through creative thinking and cultural arts. Its director, whose stage name is Mama Yah, provides technical hands-on training in life skills, as well as cultural arts through field trips, cultural classes and more. "As a result, participants of Afrojabe receive the necessary skills to compete in today's challenging and diverse world," Mama Yah said.
While participation in the drum and dance group from Flint is open to all youth between the ages of seven and 18, oftentimes it is the troubled youth of the inner city that Mama Yah focuses on. Just as organized sports helps to provide a sense of belonging to something greater than oneself, the drum and dance troupe achieves the same as it also gives a child a greater sense of discipline in their own life.
Afrojabe AfrikanVillage is well respected as an educational consulting organization. In June it presented Liberian Legacies, an African drum and
dance workshop in Flint that featured Kaikpai, a native of the Mali Empire of West Africa who was recruited by the director of the National Dance Troupe of Liberia.
As a youngster, Kaikpai used to travel with his uncles, who were drummers that played at village festivals and other ceremonial occasions.
At age seven, he graduated from what is called the poro or the Men's Secret Society, and has since held on to his traditional culture with great pride.
While touring with the Cultural Ambassadors, Kaikpai has performed at Swain Auditorium in California and at Disney World, and has presented numerous workshops including those for the Muntu Dance Company of Chicago.
Phillipson said this is the third year for the St. Denys Foundation to provide grant funding to the festival through the Downtown Development Authority.
The fine arts grant will also fund the performances of: The Reggae Boyz, Miss Kathy's School of Dance, The rock and roll music of The Blisters, Encore Dance, the Kalamazoo Bag Pipe Band, the music of Due Process, Lake Effect Jazz Big Band and the Christian music performance of Seeds.
In addition to the fine arts grants received from St. Denys Foundation and the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, the three-day summertime bash is being underwritten by the following corporate sponsors: Drs. Charles Burling and Jonathan Gillesby, Creative Vinyl Signs, Felpausch Food Center, Franklin &Son, Leader Publications, Mennel Milling Co. of Michigan, Southwestern Michigan College and Wolverine Mutual Insurance Co.
This year's Fun Fest features approximately 45 hours of live vocal and instrumental music; amusement rides and midway of Family Fun Tyme; Starwalk children's games; the Vertical Challenge Climbing Wall; summer sidewalk sales with community, commercial and craft booths; festival food court; and the 31st anniversary of Steve's 5K and 10K Run, 5K Walk and its Children's Fun Run. New this year, with Dowagiac Little League hosting the Senior League State Boys Baseball Tournament that weekend, the opening ceremony and dinner for tournament families will be held at the festival site on Thursday evening.
Advance, discounted tickets for children's amusement rides are now on sale
at the Chamber of Commerce office, located in the train depot, and at McDonald's Restaurant. To obtain a full schedule of events or to register for sidewalk booth space, call the Chamber of Commerce at (269) 782-8212.