Inaugural Afro Air Festival To Celebrate African Heritage in Dallas

The inaugural Afro Air Festival is coming to Fair Park for a celebration of African heritage in North Texas.

The event, founded and directed by Weyni Kahsay, is a volunteer-run celebration of “Afro-Latin, Afro-Caribbean, Black American and African diaspora culture.” Kahsay, a local interdisciplinary artist, was inspired by her family heritage to create the festival with the hopes of sharing aspects of her own culture and that of others with Dallas.

The event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 17,  will include an array of arts, entertainment and businesses. More than 25 artists and performers and 40 vendors are expected. The performers are volunteers who, like the festival’s operators, are taking part to share their heritage with the community.

“I was born and raised in Dallas, and my family’s originally from Eritrea, so they moved here right before I was born,” Kahsay says.

Though she grew up in Texas, Kahsay has always felt a connection to Eritrea. Much of her extended family still lives there, and she has taken four trips to visit, ranging in length from three months to more than a year. She is also connected to the Eritrean community in Dallas and regularly participates in holidays with them, like Eritrean Independence Day on May 24, marking the day Eritrea declared independence from Ethiopia in 1991.

Kahsay explains that in Eritrea, there is an annual event called the Eritrea Expo Festival that takes place each summer.

“Basically, everybody from all different cities in Eritrea comes to this one place to celebrate all the different nine ethnic groups [that comprise Eritrea],” she says. “And so they do this by showcasing their dances, their culture, food, you know, bring displays of how they build their homes in the village.”

Kashay was inspired by the display of unity and the convergence of so many different cultures and decided to bring it home to Dallas with her. When she initially began work on the Afro Air Festival, she knew she wanted it to be inclusive. For the event in Dallas, Kahsay wanted to represent the diversity of African heritage that exists in North Texas.

The first step Kahsay took was engaging her local community. She told people about her idea, and what inspired it, leading her to realize there was a strong desire for a celebration of African diaspora culture in Dallas. The number of people – and cultures represented – who were reaching out began to swell.

Now, in the weeks leading up to the event, Kahsay says she still has people asking how they can participate.

“I think that people really love the mission, and they see the vision, and they understand that this project is not just for today,” she says. “They want to see this, you know, live on…for a long time.”

Kahsay says she hopes the festival brings people together and lets them open themselves up to new cultural experiences. She wants this to be an event that anyone can come to and experience, not just people of African origin or descent.

“I think that Dallas is a really diverse city,” the festival director says. “And it’s so easy to kind of stick within your bubble, in … your friend group. I think that [the festival] is a good opportunity for everybody to just kind of mix and mingle.”

And while she’s excited for the festival to come to fruition, Kashay is particularly looking forward to stopping by Fusion Vibes’ food truck at the event.

“I really love to eat, so I will definitely be stopping by every single food truck or food booth,” she says.

Providing a wide array of African arts showcases focused on mediums like comedy, dance, and food was critical to Kashay’s vision. The festival’s lineup includes an art marketplace curated by Indibano Residency Director Buke Dube, performances by Nigerian singer David Coast, DJs Lex & Answer and Afrobeats artist BANWO.

“There’s so many different forms of art,” Kashay says. “And it should [all] be celebrated.”

Tickets for the Afro Air Festival are available now.