Entertainment Story by Dominika Kouassi

 Sept. 1, the Heartland of America Park was filled with Afrobeats, bright colored garments and most of all, the appreciation of African culture. Afrofest, originally known as “Afromaha,” is a city-wide celebration of African culture where people come and experience everything that Africa has to offer in the city of Omaha. 

 Every year Afrofest continues to prove why it is important in the Omaha community. It celebrates food, music, art and African creativity from local businesses and sponsors to artists and vendors. Founded in 2018, Afrofest used to be held at Stinson Park at Aksarben, and its immense growth over the last couple years shows that it has a profound

Better Together: Jaeda Lawson ’25, Diane Koumaka ’25, Kerenzia Amouzou ’25 and Poni Loala ’25 pose together as they show off their outfits. Koumaka and Amouzou are both wearing their Togolese traditional fabric called “Avo,” featuring bright colored fabric with eccentric patterns; both outfits were handmade by professional seamstresses. Photo by Dominika Kouassi.

impact on its audience.

Over the last few years, Afrofest has hosted more than 15,000 festival goers, has had an impact of more than $5 million in revenue to the Omaha economy, attracted 8,000 non-Omaha residents to the city and has promoted more than 80 Black-owned businesses. Not only is Afrofest a festival, but the organization in itself has different events where it promotes Black culture across all 54 African countries.

These include Afro Fashion Week Omaha that promotes African and Black designers and clothes, Afro Film Week that showcases films made by Black and African directors and the Afro Excellence Gala that awards all the hard work that the Black community has done during the year. 

Junior Eliora Agbenohevi attended Afrofest this year, but instead of being a festival goer, she attended as a vendor. She represented and sold for her mother’s hair business, Eli Hair and Beauty. Agbenohevi said she felt a sense of empowerment and pride as she helped her mother. ”It felt good, I talked to a lot of people. I felt empowered, helpful, and I was getting the hang of what running a business is like and building skills for the future.” 

“Everyone should go next year and support African
and Black-owned businesses because the entire African
diaspora is represented there.”

– Eliora Agbenohevi ’26

The types of vendors varied immensely as attendees walked through the lines of booths, which was meant to resemble a West African street market with shops close together and sellers having their commodities on display. To some it may have seemed chaotic, but to the African community it gave a familiar sense of “home.” The festival featured items from traditional African clothing to hand made paintings. Attendees had a lot to choose from. 

Some favorites of Afrofest varied from the music to the interactive Children’s Station with a Robo-Dog—but one common treasure was the food. 

“One of my favorite things from Afrofest was the food, especially Chiamas Grill. I was able to try more West African food than East African food because I’m South Sudanese which is in East Africa. It was really cool to see and experience different regions in Africa through food,” senior Poni Loala said. 

Overall, Afrofest brought good vibes, but for some people it meant more, and it sprouted a sense of personal growth. “I had to step out of my comfort zone and pass out cards to people who I never would have talked to myself,” Agebenohevi said.

Going into its eighth year, Afrofest has proven its city-wide impact on Omaha, and this year it was formally announced that Afrofest will be expanding to the cities of Dallas, Minneapolis and Nashville.

Although Afrofest will continue to expand and change over these next few years, for Agbenohevi “it’s important to celebrate the culture and celebrate the African diaspora. We have a huge population in Omaha that needs to be celebrated and represented. It’s good to learn about other cultures and feel like you have a place to belong.” 

So whether you find yourself in Omaha, Dallas, Nashville or Minneapolis, “Everyone should go next year and support African and Black-owned businesses because the entire African diaspora is represented there,” Agbenohevi said. 

The World Runs on Volunteers: Afrofest volunteer Emefa Aclinou ’27 embraces her cousins as they watch the Afrofest main stage being set up for use. Volunteers are a key part of keeping Afrofest running as they help vendors set up, check tickets and more. Later that night, the stage was filled with bright lights and loud music that filled the ears of a roaring crowd.
Photo by Dominika Kouassi.