THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509060170
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
ABOUT FIVE YEARS ago, city leaders conceived the idea for a festival they hoped would enhance racial harmony in Portsmouth.
They gave the festival a Kiswahili name meaning unity. Their goal was to bridge the ties between races by increasing the community's understanding of cultural differences.
The three-day festival would include an African marketplace, exotic cuisine, exhibitions, children's arts and crafts, a community forum, as well as music, dance and art reflective of Portsmouth's African-American ancestry.
Now in its fifth year, the Umoja Festival is well on its way to achieving that goal.
``I think that we've started on the bridge,'' said the Rev. Melvin Marriner, vice chairman of the festival. ``The bridge is not complete, but we've started on the work.''
Leisure Services Director Lydia P. Patton is festival chairman.
The pastor of Grove Baptist Church thinks ``a strong foundation has been laid'' in promoting an awareness of cultural diversity in Portsmouth.
``I really commend Portsmouth for taking this giant step in trying to bring about unity,'' Marriner said. ``It's a great start.''
The event celebrating African-American heritage has been held the third weekend in September on the Downtown waterfront since 1991.
This year the festival will open at noon on Sept. 15 with an authentic African drum call, which summons all participants to assemble and form a processional.
The processional will include city leaders, City Council members, African ambassadors, dancers, city employees and residents - all donning masks, streamers and noisemakers for a colorful and festive march from Riverfront Park to Portside.
``The processional is important as we all walk together down to the stage area, where the opening service will start,'' said Marriner. ``And then we'll get permission from the elders to begin.''
Receiving the elders' permission to start the celebration is an African custom, said Marriner. About 75 African-American seniors were recruited from civic leagues, churches and even some nursing homes to participate in the ceremony.
``We're pushing really hard to get the elderly involved as well as the young people,'' said Marriner.
Crafts and games that cultivate an appreciation and understanding of the African culture are being planned for younger festival-goers.
Between noon and 5 p.m. Sept. 16 and 1-5 p.m. Sept. 17, children can learn to make a kufi, an African hat, out of construction-paper strips in the traditional African colors: black, red, green and yellow.
Akuaba dolls, which represent fertility, also will be made. According to African tradition, females who want children can make dolls to carry around in their sashes, said Judy Burgess of the Children's Museum. The dolls have different heads, depending on what the mother hopes the sex of the child will be.
Kids also will be able to design their own African masks and make a tic-tac drum, a small, hand-held drum on a stick. Beaded strings attached to the drum make music when the stick is alternated back and forth.
The children's area will be located near the Portside water stage.
For older children, a teen forum is planned for 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Signet Bank parking lot. Topics of discussion include drug abuse, teen pregnancy, violence, social diseases and parent-child relationships.
``A few months back, we did a survey through the Portsmouth Public School System to try to find out what the major concerns of teens in our area were,'' said Aldora Hatcher, community forum chair.
``As a result of the survey, what we've done is formulate a panel that's going to really be addressing these areas, along with representatives from teen groups,'' she said.
Continuous music on two stages will be performed throughout the weekend, with national acts scheduled on the main stage at Riverfront Park. The Dramatics will play at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Guitarist Jonathan Butler is scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 16.
A variety of jazz, rhythm and blues, Caribbean and contemporary groups will play during the first two days, while gospel music will wind down the weekend from noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 17.
About 100 vendors are expected to sell Afrocentric books, kente cloth, papyrus prints, African masks and jewelry over the weekend.
And at least 30 food concessionaires from up and down the Eastern Seaboard will bring curried goat, curried chicken, fried fish, corn bread and yellow rice to the waterfront.
``Our newest twist in vendors this year is a man coming from New Orleans with the original jambalaya,'' said Tom Blake of the Parks and Recreation staff.
The festival also will include a trolley tour highlighting many contributions African-Americans made to the city.
The tours will include a narrated history of Olde Towne, as well as re-enactors in period costume who will board the trolley along the route to share stories of noted African Americans from Portsmouth's past.
The trolley will stop at Emanuel AME Church, which contains benches made in the 1800s by slaves, and The Art Atrium, where an exhibit containing historical documents and artifacts reminiscent of Portsmouth's African-American ancestry will be on display. MEMO: For more information about the Umoja Festival, call 393-8432 or
393-8481.
[For a related story, see page 7 of The Currents for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: REVOLUTIONARY BLACKS
[Color] Staff photo by JIM WALKER
ON THE COVER
Thomas Sledge, one of the re-enactors, was photographed at site of
Lord Cornwallis' Headquarters by staff photographer Jim Walker.
Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Edna Hendrix shows some of the African American artifacts she has
collected. They will be on display during the festival at the Art
Atrium, one of the trolley stops.
Guitarist Jonathon Butler is scheduled to porform during the Umoja
Festival at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on the Riverfront Stage.
The Dramatics will perform Friday at 8:30 p.m. on the Riverfront
Stage.
The Rev. Melvin Marriner
UMOJA FESTIVAL ENTERTAINMENT
[For a copy of the schedule, see microfilm for this date on page 8
of The Currents.]
by CNB