African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations The History, Customs, and Symbols Associated with Both Traditional and Contemporary Religious and Secular Events Observed by Americans of African Descent By Kathlyn Gay Foreword by Jean Currie Church Introduction by Jessie Carney Smith 615 Griswold • Detroit, MI 48226 Appendix 2: Calendar of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations his appendix lists each currently observed event in calendar order, followed by the event’s T location. Events that do not include a location are those that are widely observed around the U.S. Within each month, events that annually occur on the same fixed date are listed first. These are followed by events that occur throughout the month or events that take place dur- ing the month on varying dates each year. January Fixed Dates Jan 1 — Emancipation Day Jan 5 — George Washington Carver Day, Tuskegee, AL Non-Fixed Dates 3rd Mon — Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Last week — Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Eatonville, FL February Fixed Dates Feb 1 — National Freedom Day Feb 14 — Frederick Douglass Day, Washington, DC; New Bedford, MA Feb 20 — Buffalo Soldiers Day, MD Non-Fixed Dates Month-long — African-American History Month Month-long — Native Islander Gullah Celebration, Hilton Head Island, SC Sun closest to or on Feb 14 — Founder’s Day/Richard Allen’s Birthday Mid-Feb — Battle of Olustee Reenactment, Olustee, FL 3rd weekend — Festival Sundiata, Seattle, WA Last Sat — Harambee Festival, Columbia, SC Last weekend — Olokun Festival, Sheldon, SC Date varies — NAACP Image Awards, Los Angeles, CA Date varies — Pan African Film & Arts Festival, Los Angeles, CA 467 African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations March Fixed Dates Mar 5 — Crispus Attucks Day, Boston, MA; NJ Mar 10 — Harriet Tubman Day Non-Fixed Dates 1st weekend — Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Selma, AL April Fixed Dates Apr 15, on or around — Jackie Robinson Day Apr 16 — Emancipation Day in Washington, DC Non-Fixed Dates Last week — Denver Pan African Film Festival, Denver, CO Last week — Pan African Festival of Georgia, Macon, GA 10 days in Apr or May — Pan African Bookfest and Cultural Conference, Fort Lauderdale, FL Apr through May — African Film Festival, New York, NY May Fixed Dates May 18 — Haitian Flag Day May 20 — Emancipation Day, Tallahassee, FL May 29 — Emancipation Day, Upson County, GA Non-Fixed Dates 1st week — African-American Heritage Festival, Columbus, OH Last weekend — Black Pride Festival, Washington, DC Last weekend — DanceAfrica, Brooklyn, NY 10 days in May or Apr — Pan African Bookfest and Cultural Conference, Fort Lauderdale, FL Apr through May — African Film Festival, New York, NY Date varies — Pinkster, Sleepy Hollow, NY June Fixed Dates June 19 — Juneteenth Non-Fixed Dates Month-long — Black Music Month 1st weekend — Chicago Gospel Music Festival, Chicago, IL 1st weekend — Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival, Miami, FL 468 Appendix 2: Calendar of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations 1st weekend — Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, Sedalia, MO 2nd Sun — Odunde Festival, Philadelphia, PA 2nd week — DanceAfrica, Washington, DC 3rd Mon — Bessie Smith Strut, Chattanooga, TN 3rd weekend — Georgia Sea Island Festival, St. Simons Island, GA 3rd weekend — Sugar Grove Underground Railroad Convention, Sugar Grove, PA Last full weekend — DC Caribbean Carnival, Washington, DC Date varies — Hollywood Black Film Festival, Hollywood, CA Date varies — Kuumba Festival, Knoxville, TN Date varies — Pinkster, Brooklyn, NY July Fixed Dates July 4, five days including — African/Caribbean International Festival of Life, Chicago, IL July 4, weekend nearest — Fillmore Jazz Festival, San Francisco, CA July 5 — Emancipation Day, Rochester, NY July 23 — Haile Selassie’s Birthday July 28 — Buffalo Soldiers Day Non-Fixed Dates 1st weekend — Ifa Festival and Yoruba National Convention, Sheldon, SC Mid-July — Denver Black Arts Festival, Denver, CO Mid-July — Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration, Indianapolis, IN 2nd weekend — DuSable Museum Arts & Crafts Festival, Chicago, IL 3rd weekend — Rondo Days Celebration, St. Paul, MN 3rd weekend, 10 days beginning — National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA Last Sat — Ghanafest, Chicago, IL Last week — W. C. Handy Music Festival, Florence, AL Last week in odd-numbered years — National Black Theatre Festival, Winston-Salem, NC Last weekend — Nicodemus Emancipation and Homecoming Celebration, Nicodemus, KS Date varies — American Black Film Festival, Miami/South Beach, FL August Fixed Dates Aug 1 — West Indies Emancipation Day Aug 17 — Marcus Garvey’s Birthday Non-Fixed Dates Month-long — Harlem Week, New York, NY Early Aug — Emancipation Day in Hutchinson, KS Early Aug — Satchmo SummerFest, New Orleans, LA 1st weekend — African World Festival in Milwaukee, WI 469 African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations 2nd Sat — Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, Chicago, IL 2nd weekend — AFRAM Festival, Seaford, DE 2nd weekend — Watts Summer Festival, Los Angeles, CA Mid-Aug weekend — Idlewild Jazz Festival, Idlewild, MI 3rd weekend — African World Festival in Detroit, MI 3rd weekend — Down Home Family Reunion, Richmond, VA Last weekend — African Methodist August Quarterly, Wilmington, DE Last weekend — Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, New York, NY Last weekend — Goombay!, Asheville, NC Last weekend — Jubilee Festival of Heritage, Columbia, SC Date varies — Black August Benefit Concert, New York, NY Date varies — Homowo Festival, Portland, OR Date varies — National Black Family Reunion Celebration, Rockford, IL September Fixed Dates Sep 17 — Frederick Douglass Day, New Bedford, MA Sep 22 — Emancipation Day, Gallia County, OH Non-Fixed Dates 1st Mon — J’Ouvert Celebration and West Indian-American Day Carnival, Brooklyn, NY 1st week — National Baptist Convention, USA, Annual Session 2nd weekend — National Black Family Reunion Celebration, Washington, DC 3rd Sat — Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival, Greenville, MS 3rd Sun — African American Day Parade, New York, NY 3rd week — Maafa Commemoration, Brooklyn, NY 3rd weekend —African Street Festival, Nashville, TN Late Sep — Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival, Crownsville, MD Late Sep to early Oct — MOJA Arts Festival, Charleston, SC October Fixed Dates Oct 1 — Jerry Rescue Day, Syracuse, NY Non-Fixed Dates 1st Sat — Black Cowboy Parade, Oakland, CA Late Oct — African American Women in Cinema Film Festival, New York, NY Late Oct — DanceAfrica, Chicago, IL November Fixed Dates Nov 1 — Emancipation Day, MD 470 Appendix 2: Calendar of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations Non-Fixed Dates Mid-Nov — National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference 2nd weekend — Penn Center Heritage Days, St. Helena Island, SC 4th Sun — Umoja Karamu Nov through Feb — Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo December Fixed Dates Dec 1 — Rosa Parks Day Dec 26 to Jan 1 — Kwanzaa Dec 31 — Watch Night 471 Organizations — Contact Information and Web Sites his section includes all web sites, including available contact information, listed in the T entries in alphabetical order by the name of the sponsoring organization. AFRAM Festival African American Research Library & P.O. Box 687 Cultural Center Seaford, DE 19973 Pan African Bookfest and Cultural Conference 302-628-1908 East Broward County Florida Library 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. African-American Appalachian Arts, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Emporium Bldg. 954-625-2800 (AARLCC) 100 S. Gay St., Ste. 106 954-357-7348 (Bookfest Hotline) Knoxville, TN 37920 http://www.broward.org/library/aarlcc.htm http://www.discoveret.org/aaaa http://www.broward.org/library/pabf.htm African American Cultural Alliance African American Student Services P.O. Box 22173 Nashville, TN 37202 Ohio State Multicultural Center 615-251-0007 Ohio Union http://www.africanamericanculturalalliance 1739 N. High St. .com/ Columbus, OH 43210 614-688-8449 African American Cultural Center http://www.osuheritagefestival.com/ Official Kwanzaa Web Site 3018 W. 48th St. African American Women in Cinema Los Angeles, CA 90043-1335 Organization, Inc. 323-299-6124; fax: 323-299-0261 545 Eighth Ave., Ste. 401 http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/ New York, NY 10018 index.shtml 212-769-7949; fax: 212-871-2074 http://www.aawic.org African American Day Parade Office 1969 Madison Ave. African/Caribbean International Festival of New York, NY 10035-1549 Life 212-348-3080 c/o Martin’s Inter-Culture, Ltd. 509 African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations 1325 S. Wabash Ave., Ste. 307 Huntington, WV 25755 Chicago, IL 60605 http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/akanknow 312-427-0266; fax: 312-427-0268 .html http://www.festivaloflife.com Alpha Kappa Alpha African Film Festival, Inc. 5656 S. Stony Island Ave. 154 W. 18th St., Ste. 2A Chicago, IL 60637 New York, NY 10011 773-684-1282 212-352-1720; fax: 212-807-9752 http://www.aka1908.com/ http://www.africanfilmny.org Alpha Phi Alpha African Heritage Cultural Arts Center 2313 St. Paul St. 6161 N.W. 22nd Ave. Baltimore, MD 21218 Miami, FL 33142 410-554-0040 305-638-6771 http://www.alphaphialpha.net/ African Methodist Episcopal Church American Black Film Festival 500 8th Ave. S. c/o Film Life Nashville, TN 37203 P.O. Box 688 615-254-0911; fax: 615-254-0912 New York, NY 10012 http://www.ame-church.com/ http://www.abff.com African Studies Center UCLA International Institute American Museum of Natural History “The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Central Park W. at 79th St. Improvement Association Papers Project” New York, NY 10024 10244 Bunche Hall 212-769-5000 P.O. Box 951310 http://www.amnh.org Los Angeles, CA 90095 American Public Transportation Association 310-825-3686; fax: 310-206-2250 http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/ 1666 K St., N.W. mgpp Washington, DC 20006 202-496-4816; fax: 202-496-4321 African World Festival http://www.apta.com Henry Maier Festival Park 2821 N. 4th St. Annual Emancipation Celebration Day, Inc. Milwaukee, WI 53212 P.O. Box 511 414-372-4567; fax: 414-372-6054 Gallipolis, OH 45631 http://www.africanworldfestival.com http://www.emancipation-day.com Akan Cultural Symbols Project Online Asbury United Methodist Church George F. Kojo Arthur, Associate Professor 926 11th St., N.W.