2009 Kunta Kinte festival canceled

Organizers cite cash flow problems, promise event will return next year

By ERIN COX, Staff Writer

Published 07/03/09

Twenty-two years after a small group of African Americans started the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival in Annapolis, the annual event has been canceled.

Paul W. Gillespie - Capital file photo Organizers have canceled the annual Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival, where in past years people like Manny Locke, left, taught children about African and African-American heritage. The nonprofit organization that runs the festival said it is short on cash and its members need to hold a fundraiser in order to bring the event back next year.

Money problems led organizers to call off the 22nd annual Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival scheduled for Sept. 19, even though several grants had been awarded for the event and an invitation had been extended to President Barack Obama and his family.

The nonprofit organization that puts on the festival does not have enough cash on hand to launch the event at City Dock, so the group is planning a fundraiser instead on July 17.

"Being where we were last year, we...

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Darn shame - 2009-07-03 22:03:05

This is the kind of thing that makes me want to buy a big piece of land so, at least, fundraisers as obviously important as this wouldn't have to worry about leasing a space. I hope they can make it work in the future. I haven't been to the festival yet, but you don't need to tell me the impact and importance the African and Afro-Americans have had on our country.

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eric sacratini - tracy's landing, MD - Karma: Neutral