Organizers behind St. Paul’s annual Little Africa Festival say this year’s celebration will be the largest.

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African Economic Development Solutions of Minnesota has hosted a free, family-friendly art, music, food, and dance lineup for the past eight years at Hamline Park, located at 1504 Lafond Avenue St. Paul, MN 55104.

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The festival will include an “African Day Parade” along Snelling Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 6. The effort seeks to help brand the community around Snelling and University Avenues as a business and cultural district driven by the city’s growing African communities.

 

In 2015, a study published by an economist at Concordia University found that Minnesota’s African immigrants have a collective income of at least $1.6 billion, half of which is concentrated in the metro. That includes roughly $200 million in St. Paul and $300 million in Minneapolis alone.

 

Sponsors, vendors, and artists may contact Tsegaye Gelgelu at (651) 393-6483 or tgelgelu@aeds-mn.org or visit Littleafricafest.com.