Back to Angola Festival Coming to Bradenton

A free International event will take place October 20, 21, and 22, on the City of Bradenton’s Riverwalk East End at Manatee Mineral Spring Park, 

The Back to Angola Festival is being hosted by Oaktree Community Outreach, a local nonprofit, in partnership with Reflections of Manatee. This cultural and heritage festival is a homecoming and celebrates the once-forgotten blended history of Red Bays, Andros (Bahamas), and the Angola Maroon community who resided at the Spring in the early 1800s.

The existence of Angola only recently re-entered the collective memory of contemporary history after decades of new historical insights, archeological explorations, and chance meetings by various groups and universities. These findings revealed that not only physical archeological evidence of this community persisted but also the legacy of the people themselves. After Angola was destroyed in 1821, a portion broke off and founded a new life in Red Bays, Andros.

The Park and the Back to Angola Festival Program are registered on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom (NTF).

At the Back to Angola Festival, descendants, historians, community leaders, and those local to the surrounding Bradenton area, along with anyone else interested in reveling in the history will come together to commemorate 202 years since this community resided at the Springs.

Participants will hear lively presentations on the history, see cultural demonstrations of basket weaving, and wood carving by the descendants, and experience a live Bahamian Junkanoo workshop complete with live music. Of course, no festival would be complete without the food - Bahamian delights will be on sale such as conch fritters, conch salad, and fish dinners among other delicacies such as coconut cake by local vendors. Also on sale will be art, books, oils, homemade jams, pickled vegetables, and other treats and Bahamian souvenirs.

Participants will be able to view the Freedom Seekers Exhibits at the nearby Reflections of Manatee Museum.

Presenters at the event include:

Dr. Uzi Baram, Director of Public Archaeology for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens; Vickie Oldham, President of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, Inc.; Dr. Canter Brown, Renowned Florida historian; Dr. Sharon Jefferson Educator, founder of RECESS; and Sherry Robinson Svekis, President Reflections of Manatee; Jason Brown (Angola descendant & cultural archaeologist); Residents of Red Bays-Descendants of Angola :- (Sharona Barr, Wilton Russell, Peggy & Indiana Cooper, Kendrick Wallace, Anora Gibson), Bahamian Cultural Heritage Ambassador Henry Higgins and International Recording Artist Clifford “Big Bruh” Riley (Andros descendant), Junkanoo Groups: Miami Generation Junkanoo and Miami Junkanoo Bahamas.

The City of Bradenton’s Riverwalk East End at Manatee Mineral Spring Park is located at 1312 

2nd Ave East, Bradenton 34208, located two blocks north of State Road 64 off 14th St. E.

Event Times are Friday: 6:00 – 8:00 PM; Saturday: 1:00 – 8:00 PM; Sunday: 4:00 – 8:00 PM.