Harambee Arts Festival celebrates unity

Jul. 26—LENOIR — Come enjoy unity and togetherness during the 48th annual Harambee Festival at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center this weekend.

This year, the Harambee Festival will kick off on Saturday, July 30 and will last until Friday, Aug. 5 with a variety of events and gatherings in which the whole family can participate.

Lester Whittington, director of the MLK Center, has been organizing the Harambee Festival for 29 years. A Lenoir native, Whittington grew up down the street from the MLK Center and has always looked forward to the week-long events.

"When it first started, I was a young man, and we didn't have the stuff back then that we have now," said Whittington. "All we had was the three-legged race, the sack race, the pie-eating contest, and the greasy pig and the greasy pole. But it was fun. We couldn't wait for Harambee because we knew it was going to be a week of fun. It's wild that it's still going today ... I get excited every year we do it because it brings back my childhood."

The Harambee Festival is the largest and longest-running festival in Lenoir.

The festival began in 1973 as the Black Arts Festival under the leadership of Dwight Perkins, who was the MLK Center director at the time. Perkins and his uncle, Dr. Gaston Michaux, were dedicated to promoting Black history through the arts. Festival participants were offered workshops on art history, art classes, ceramics, clay works, painting, and sketching. During the week-long event, a showcase of local artists' work was always displayed throughout the Center. As the festival grew, different acts and artists from across the state and beyond began to participate.

In 1983, the name of the festival changed from the Black Arts Festival to the Harambee Arts Festival. "Harambee" is a Swahili word meaning "unity" and "togetherness," and it was chosen because the festival united communities together in celebration of the arts.

This year, the Harambee Arts Festival will begin with a family fun day on Saturday, July 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m on the field at the MLK Center. There will be numerous activities for the whole family, including a sketch artist, face painters, a trampoline, a foam cannon provided by Hype Nation Events, a variety of games, a train ride, bungee, tic-tac-toe, and a rock-climbing wall.

The Freedman Cultural Center will be providing food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, and fish sandwiches.

Additionally, the Ministerial Alliance will be giving away book bags to prepare children for school in the fall, and Hudson First Baptist Church will be donating supplies to fill the book bags.

"I like seeing other churches and organizations getting together to help with this festival," said Whittington. "That's what it's all about."

On Sunday, July 31, there will be gospel performances from Chosen, a gospel choir from Wilkesboro, as well as solo artists Jaliah Howell, from Hickory, and Kyesha Norton, from Wilkesboro, in the Samuel T. Sturgis Gymnasium at the MLK Center.

Jaliah is currently a student at UNC-Greensboro. Her mother, Jackie Howell-Wilson, is a member of Chosen.

Kyesha Norton is the daughter of the Rev. Roger Horton and Judy Horton, from Ferguson.

"We just hope that, after church, everyone will come on back and listen to some good gospel music and some great singers," said Robin Scott, assistant manager at the MLK Center.

On Monday, Aug. 1, the JH Jones All-Star games for 8-12 year olds will take place at the Samuel T. Sturgis gymnasium at 6 p.m. The summer league basketball team will be playing against Gamewell Optimist for two games.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the senior citizens' appreciation banquet will take place at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium with dinner and music, as well as recognition of the oldest male and oldest female senior in the audience.

"We always invite them to come out, nothing big," said Whittington. "We give [the oldest male and oldest female] a little plaque and a T-shirt."

Scott organizes the senior citizens' banquet every year, and she said it is her favorite part of the entire festival.

"Even in my young days, I just loved sitting around with the older people because I love to hear them talk," she said. "My grandmother would sit and just fill me up with wisdom."

"It just makes me feel good to see senior citizens out and able to sit back and enjoy themselves," continued Scott. "We're honoring them, letting them know that at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, we cherish and appreciate them."

Wednesday, Aug. 3 will have game night starting at 6 p.m. The games will be spades, bid whist, bingo, and dominoes.

On Thursday, Aug. 4, the Recognition Banquet will take place in the Samuel T. Sturgis gymnasium starting at 6 p.m.

"We will be recognizing James Patterson and Karen Patterson-Foster for their community service," Whittington said. "Karen's been working with the NAACP to get people to join, and she does a wonderful job with that. James has been officiating here for 30 years, he helps me out up here. He's going into the softball Hall of Fame, so we're just going to honor him."

A special recognition will also be given to two young men for their hard work in the community.

Friday, Aug. 5 is the last day of the Harambee Arts Festival. So far, nothing is officially planned for this day.

"Right now, the way I'm feeling ... we might not be able to do anything," said Whittington.

Follow Harambee Arts Festival on Facebook or visit www.cityoflenoir.com for more information and to stay updated on all the wonderful events taking place next week during the festival.

"I'd like to thank the community for all their support in all the years the Harambee Festival has been going on by being there and supporting us and the things that we want to do," said Scott.