Annual Asheville Goombay Festival
Market Street in downtown Asheville
Goombay Celebration – “Bringing it Back to the Block”- September 20, 21, and 22
(Asheville, NC) – Goombay Celebration, with the theme of “Bringing it Back to the Block,” will be held on Market Street in downtown Asheville on Friday, September 20 from 5 pm -10 pm; Saturday, September 21 from 10 am – 10 pm; and Sunday, September 22 from 10 am – 5 pm. The free three-day event will feature all-local vendors and performers.
Goombay Celebration, which is a partnership between the YMI Cultural Center and the Just Folks Organization, will be held in place of the YMI’s annual Goombay Festival which will
return for it’s 40th Anniversary in 2020. The theme of “Bringing it Back to the Block” refers to the fact that Goombay Celebration will be held in the festival’s original location.
As one of the oldest (if not the oldest) African American cultural centers in the country, the YMI Cultural Center holds the history of Asheville’s Black community, while also
supporting and illuminating Black contributions being made today. “The Goombay Celebration will be community-centered,” says YMI Executive Director Dewana Little, “and
will highlight the immense amount of Black talent we have here in the city.”
Goombay Celebration partners are LEAF Community Arts, Garnet Prose + Projects, Asheville FM, and Bhramari Brewing Company. Bhramari recently released “Umquombothi,” a traditional African beer, in anticipation of Goombay Celebration. The beer was created with Rayburn Farms, a Black-owned farm, and Riverbend Malt.
For more information, visit ymiculturalcenter.org.