46th annual Dance Africa Festival underway in Fort Greene
The event is the Brooklyn Academy of Music's ode to bringing and embracing African culture to Brooklyn.
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The Brooklyn Academy of Music began its 46th annual Dance Africa Festival in Fort Greene on Saturday.
Bazaar is the Brooklyn Academy of Music's ode to bringing and embracing African culture to Brooklyn.
The streets were transformed this weekend only into a global marketplace of arts, music, clothing and food. The event gave attendees a taste of another continent, right here in the New York City metropolitan area.
"Dance Africa is a chance for us to celebrate our culture, both coming from the continent, but also how it survived here in America, but also in the Diaspora," explained Coco Killingsworth, vice president of creative social impact for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The festival featured over 150 vendors, and each shared a different piece of African culture with the community.
One of those vendors is Tracey Ramsey. Her handmade earrings are her contribution to spreading her love for African fashion.
"African people just love color -- a blast of color. The earrings are a blast of color, and they go with every type of African outfit that you could own," Ramsey said.
Adama Sylla, owner of Soma Fashion Africa, brought his handmade bags that are inspired by African designs. He said he feels a sense of community when people come by and check out his work.
"It's the interaction with culture to show what we are doing with our hands and what we can make with our hands, and we get all the beautiful people here too, who appreciate what we are bring over to them," Sylla said.
The festival also featured plenty of snacks, including the traditional roasted corn, fruit juices, jerk chicken, and soul food.
The festival will continue through Monday at 8 p.m.
