The Afro Carib Fest is an award winning 2-day annual festival that celebrates diversity by showcasing the arts, culture and heritage of Afro-Caribbean diaspora. It will take place on August 19 & 20, 2023 from 12 pm to 9 pm at Thomson Memorial Park. The recent 2022 Afro Carib Fest was a huge success. It was the biggest and best Fest yet. As one of the fastest growing cultural festivals in the GTA, a more exciting and fun filled art-based experience awaits the festival attendees for ACF 2023.

HSDC has been hosting ACF for the past eleven years and since its inception, it has made a profound impact on the community, and uses the power of art to bridge cultural, social and economic gaps, promoting opportunities for positive interaction among diverse communities. Afro-Carib Fest invites people of all backgrounds to share in cultural presentations, artistic performances, learning and networking opportunities. The event incorporates both culture and arts as great ways of preserving and strengthening our community’s sense of place, creating a personal identity and showing one’s creativity. The event has also been instrumental in building the capacity and self-sufficiency of local artists which is aligned with our mandate of promoting arts, culture, diversity, social and economic development of the marginalized sector and their families thereby fostering a unified and self-sufficient society.

This event helps promote and strengthen the culture and heritage of Afro-Caribbean communities through engaging the community in various art forms. The festival features live musical performances, drum and dance workshops, African and Caribbean folklore, dance competitions, vendor exhibitions, cultural flag parade, kids and youth zone and other activities that highlight the heritage of Afro-Caribbean communities. The festival also incorporates audience engagement activities which will include interactive performances; Afro-Caribbean drum and dance workshops, where attendees will learn traditional African drumming techniques, Egyptian belly dancing; Afro-Brazilian dancing; interactive groups dances where professional dancers will teach different dance techniques and movements to audiences.

For ACF 2023, over 60 artists will be involved from planning to actual performances on the event days. There will be over 40 exciting performances from local professional artists from various cultures. The majority of ACF artists are from ethnic minorities representing diverse, cultural artistic performances which include: Afro-Caribbean dances, African drumming, Afro beats, Poetry, R & B, Hip hop dance workshops, etc. These unique performances are a combination of the artist’s vision, creativity and collaboration with the community. More so, through the festival, under-represented and emerging local artists are given also given the opportunity to showcase their talents and network within their industry and gain future opportunities. By providing a platform for artists to share their art and empowering messages, while engaging the community, the festival helps to promote positive images of the Afro Caribbean culture and Scarborough community