AfroMonde Festival showcases heritage through music, arts

For 21 years, the AfroMonde Festival has provided Montréal with a meeting place for music, culture, food and ideas rooted in Afro descendant communities.

The annual celebration returns to the Quai de l’Horloge in Montréal’s Old Port, bringing together artists, entrepreneurs, creators and thinkers for a free program designed to showcase the breadth of Afro descendant cultural expression.

About 40 artists from the region and beyond are expected to take part this year, with more than 160 volunteers helping deliver the festival. Organizers anticipate more than 80,000 visitors throughout the event.

Music remains a major attraction, but the festival extends well beyond the stage. Its programming includes dance, culinary traditions, visual arts, crafts, entrepreneurship and activities for families. The event also provides a platform for emerging Canadian talent alongside international performers.

Agnès Mbome, founder and producer of the AfroMonde Festival, said the event has become an important showcase for Afro descendant, urban and contemporary music.

“We are proud to bring together an audience that keeps growing year after year around this festive and unifying program,” Mbome said.

The festival also contributes to Montréal’s local economy by creating opportunities for Afro descendant entrepreneurs and businesses to connect with audiences while promoting cultural exchange.

Federal support will help the festival continue its work. Madeleine Chenette, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages and to the Secretary of State for Sport, and Member of Parliament for Thérèse De Blainville, announced $10,000 in funding through Canadian Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Anti Racism Program.

The announcement was made on behalf of Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages.

Chenette said Black Canadian history and culture are an important part of the country’s story.

The journey of Black communities is inseparable from that of Canada,” she said, adding that the arts provide an important way to highlight their heritage and contributions to Canadian society.

With all programming offered free of charge, AfroMonde has positioned itself as a major cultural gathering in Montréal, offering residents and visitors an opportunity to experience the diversity of African and Afro descendant traditions in one of the city’s most popular summer settings.

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  Montreal