Since Africans and African Descendent Friendship Club (AADFC) established itself in St. Albert, African culture, history and traditions have gained traction.
As Black History Month is celebrated in February, the local club has planned a roster of events and activities culminating with Taste of Africa on Feb. 22 at the Arden Theatre. The goal of the culturally diverse festival is to unite people through authentic cuisine, music, dance, drumming, poetry and fashion.
Black History Month spotlights the achievements and contributions Black communities make to Canadian society. Mayor Cathy Heron launches the celebration on Feb. 1 with a proclamation and a recognition of Black business owners. The event starts at 4 p.m. in St. Albert Place.
“The proclamation is an opportunity to acknowledge those who came before us and the struggles they had to go through. We acknowledge them; at the same time we emphasize the oppression and racism African people endured and hope it never happens again. It took a long time for this mentality to be erased, but Black History Month is an opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past and show we make strong contributions to society,” said Helen Agbonison.
A Nigerian-Canadian currently living in St. Albert, she is the founder of AADFC. Currently, in its sixth year, volunteer members sponsor several city-wide events throughout the year, including Black History Month.
The 2025 theme for Black History Month is Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Inspiring Future Generations.
From Feb. 1-28, club members will visit St. Albert schools providing a series of cooking sessions, leading dance lessons during phys-ed classes and delivering age-appropriate presentations at assemblies.
In another month-long event, Musée Heritage Museum will showcase a small exhibition of African art works, carvings and skins. In addition, former St. Albert resident Jesse Lipscombe is showcasing his book — The Art of Doing: a Guide to Getting Motivated, Getting Unstuck and Getting It Done.
Lipscombe’s story flips back to 2007 when he was training for the Beijing Olympics. An internationally top-ranked high jumper, he was forced to examine his life and make a hard-pivot after enduring a mini-stroke five months before the Olympics.
St. Albert Public Library features movie night on Feb. 7 with a PBS documentary titled Soul Food Junkies. Filmmaker Byron Hurt, who grew up eating cholesterol-rich soul food, sets out to learn more about it and why it’s so relevant to Black culture despite its health issues. The film starts at 6:30 p.m.
At the Chamber of Commerce lunch on Feb. 12, Black history and events to support the movement will be discussed. A week later on Feb. 18, Agbonison drops by St. Albert Food Bank’s cultural kitchen to show attendees how to make okra soup. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.
“I want to show people what you can do with okra. It’s a very rich vegetable to make soup. The way we make it in Africa is a different way you make it here. But it’s one of those soups you can eat with anything,” Agbonison said.
AADFC saves the best for last with Taste of Africa on Feb. 22. There is a full two hours of entertainment as singer-dance Nkwali leads 23 children in a South African dance and Sizwe Marimba Band amps up the Caribbean vibe.
Former St. Albert councillor Ray Watkins regales the crowd with storytelling from his personal family history, while the award-winning spoken-word poet Timiro Mohamed delivers a series of short works.
One of the afternoon’s most colourful events is a fashion parade with apparel from 10-plus African countries including Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Namibia, to name a few.
As guests file out of the Arden Theatre, they can pick up pizza boxes filled with 14 different samples of African and Caribbean food.
“There is going to be lots of positive energy and education about our history. The mix of different cultures shows the many unique identities and variety from the Caribbean and Africa.”
Tickets for Taste of Africa are $20 and are available through Ticketmaster.