Music on the Stade with Musa Mboob.
Music, food and film at AfriKaba festival
The AfriKaba festival kicks off this Saturday, 29th, with an afternoon of family entertainment and a free evening concert on the Stade. The festival continues the following weekend with a series of films and music at the Electric Palace cinema. Nick Terdre reports.
AfriKaba, the annual celebration of African and Caribbean heritage and culture, offers a rich variety of entertainment over the next two weekends. Saturday’s programme has been arranged in partnership with Strike-a-Light Arts and Heritage and Hastings Borough Council.
The afternoon of free family entertainment starts at 2pm on Saturday 29 in Stade Hall with a session of storytelling by Sandra Agard. In parallel there will be a demonstration of authentic east African cooking, as Gertrude Kaaya of Kwabora Sauces shows how to use spices to produce flavoursome curries, including vegetarian and vegan varieties.
Learn how to make spicy east African dishes with Gertrude Kaaya.
At 3pm music takes centre-stage with an African inspired singing workshop with Juliet Russell of Vocal Explosion, followed by a drumming workshop with Emmanuel McDonald of Afro-Latin band Dende at 4pm. The Stade Hall programme ends with Creative Conversations – what it means and takes to be creative, with Gwyneth Wint and friends, starting at 5.30pm.
At 7.30pm the action switches to the Stade Open Space where Gambian master percussionist and vocalist Musa Mboob and Xam Xam will perform as part of Stade Saturdays. Under Musa’s guiding hand the band offers an electrifying fusion of traditional West African rhythms with modern electronic guitar sounds.
“Musa’s creativity and innovative approach to West African music has earned him a reputation as a true entertainer and a master of his instrument,” the promoter says.
The fusions only get greater as Vocal Explosion and Dende make guest appearances.
Electric Palace sessions
The festival continues the following weekend with sessions at Electric Palace cinema in the High Street. On Friday 5th there is a showing of Betty: They Say I’m Different, the story of the influential funk queen Betty Davis.
On Saturday 6th at noon there is a screening of Black Panther, an acclaimed action movie for the young and young at heart. The evening entertainment, at 7.30pm, comprises a live set by musician, poet and film-maker HBKFINN, followed by a showing of his new film Stash.
Tickets are available on the door or from the Electric Palace website: Betty (£7/£8), Black Panther (£5) and HBKFINN (£10).
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