Ethiopian Day Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland

Press Release

Ethiopian Day Festival in Silver Spring

By the Ethiopian Community Center in Maryland (ECCM)

July 19th, 2015, it was the hottest day of the year. The temperature was soaring and humid. The ECCM board members were sporting the event’s blue “ECCM” engraved t-shirt. Maryland Sports Club members joined to decorate the Civic Building Plaza with the gigantic Ethiopian and American Flags, and setting up the ECCM tent and information center. The musical equipment, stage, and vendors’ set up created a very festive atmosphere. All were energetic and enthusiastic for the success of the event.

The program started with DJ music followed by Ras Slick, the famous Reggae Sensation band. Around 4 PM, the cultural band continued with singers and dancers galvanized by the famous comedian Meskerem Bekele. A fashion show, appearance by Ms. Ethiopia and a modern band featuring Birhanu Tezera and Hibist Tiruneh followed and the festival concluded at 9 pm.

The Ethiopian Day Festival’s invited dignitaries and Guests of Honor included: Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal, Council Member Tom Hucker, Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Executive Director Steven J. McAdams, and Council Member Roger Berliner. All the dignitaries have shown strong support, solidarity and engagement with the community. In his opening speech, Dr. Amde recognized Mr. Tebabu Assefa for pioneering the event and for hosting several successful Ethiopian Day Festivals. He thanked him for establishing the festival as a celebrated event in down town Silver Spring. We are very grateful to Mr. Solomon Abdella for his extra ordinary contributions to make this festival a success; we could not have done it without him. The Ethiopian Community exemplified a strong unity in preparing this event and will continue to forge a strong united front going forward in the future.

On behalf of the community, ECCM wants to recognize our sponsors: Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships, Kaiser Permanente, Montgomery College, Ethiopian Airlines, and the Ethiopian Yellow Pages; and our supporters: Abyssinia Restaurant, Kaldis Kafe, Lucy Restaurant, Langano Restaurant, Wosenyelesh Gebeya, Abol Restaurant, Nile Restaurant, Ethio Express Café, and Bete Ethiopian Restaurant. Without these sponsors and the community supporters, the Ethiopian Day Festival would not have been possible.

Most importantly, the Ethiopian Community in the DMV area made the festival a great success. Despite the hot weather, families with children, elderlies and others were still able to gather in large numbers overwhelming the Plaza.

Ethiopian Community Center in Maryland

8120 Fenton Street, Suite 201-B, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Telephone: 240-839-7805; FAX: (240) 839-7811; www.ethioccmd.org