Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival Set For Sept. 23 At Annapolis City Dock

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The 28th Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival will be held at Susan Campbell Park, the Annapolis City Dock, on Saturday, Sept. 23. This year's free cultural celebration marks 250 years since the ancestor of "Roots" author Alex Haley arrived at the site in chains and was sold into slavery; the novel sparked a nationwide conversation about race, and an interest in tracing family history.

The festival is a free event for all ages to enjoy live music and dance, foods and artisans, as well as heritage and history. Hours for the event are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Performers include the Annapolis Drum and Bugle Corps, Kwame Ansah-Brew, First Christian Community Church Glory and Honour Praise Dancers, Clones of Funk, Capoeira Social Project of Baltimore, and Keur Khaleyi African Dance Company. Demonstrations on head wraps, genealogy, gardening and a presentation by Haley's nephew, Chris Haley, on history are also planned. Food vendors will be onsite, while arts and craft vendors will offer unique items for sale.

Free parking can be found at the Calvert Street Garage at 19 St. Johns Street, Annapolis.

Best known as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the 1976 novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” Alex Haley told the story of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte, a Gambian man who first landed at City Dock in Annapolis as a slave in September 1767. An updated telling of the family’s journey over two centuries was broadcast last year on TV.

Alex Haley died in 1992 at age 70 after seeing his novel become a way for America to discuss race. When the book was first filmed as a miniseries aired on ABC in January 1977, students discussed it in school, and 100 million people watched the finale.

For more information on the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival and its non-profit organizer, Kunta Kinte Celebrations, Inc., please visit www.kuntakinte.org or e-mail kuntakintecelebrations@gmail.com.

Photo of Alex Haley Statue at Annapolis City Dock courtesy of Capital News Service