Free Africa Day Celebration At Harlem Center This Month

HARLEM, NY — The Africa Center will host its annual Africa Day celebration later this month, bringing an afternoon of live entertainment, food and family-friendly programming to its Fifth Avenue plaza.

The free event is set for May 30, from 12-5 p.m. at the center’s home at The Africa Center in East Harlem.

Billed as an all-ages gathering, the celebration will feature a curated marketplace of vendors from across the African diaspora selling crafts, fashion and other goods, alongside live music, a DJ, panel discussions and hands-on activities like art workshops, story time and a drum circle.

The festivities will unfold against the backdrop of “When the War is Over,” a site-specific installation by Sarah Elawad currently on display in the center’s Fifth Avenue windows. The piece explores themes of culture, memory and resilience in Sudan.

Visitors can also head indoors to view “Resistance in Memory: Visions of Sudan,” a group photography exhibition featuring work by 12 emerging Sudanese artists. A café operated in partnership with Coffee Uplifts People (CUP) will offer coffee, tea and baked goods.

Observed since 1963, Africa Day commemorates the founding of the African Union — formerly the Organization of African Unity — and highlights themes of unity, cultural exchange and development across the continent and its global diaspora.

The event is free to attend, though registration is encouraged through The Africa Center’s website.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.