Stories of Africa

As part of the ongoing Natchez Tricentennial Celebration, “Stories of Africa: Contributions from the Continent to Natchez” will honor the history, culture, music, food, spirit, crafts and agriculture of Africans in Natchez and surrounding regions. Included will be displays showcasing African crafts, textiles, and crops such as rice, indigo and cotton that influenced Natchez history and culture. Members of the Kumbuka African Drum and Dance collective of New Orleans, including stilt walkers, will perform the Bambula of Congo Square dance done by enslaved Africans at Congo Square in New Orleans during the days of slavery. Storyteller Khabir Shareef will enact the story of Prince Abdul Rakhman Ibrihim Sori (subject of the book and movie, Prince Among Slaves), who was enslaved for forty years on Thomas Foster’s Greenwood Plantation near Natchez. All this, plus a chance to taste black-eyed peas, peanuts, okra, rice, kidney and lima beans, watermelon, millet, and yams. 6 pm–9 pm at the Natchez City Auditorium, 207 Jefferson Street. Free.