The LINK Picnic Festival is in its 16th year of celebrating African and Caribbean art, music, and culture in Waterloo Region. This year’s festival will be streamed online on Saturday, August 21st and Sunday, August 22, 2021. Activities begin at 2:00 pm on the festival website www.linkpicnicfestival.com, with the main show live streaming at 5:00 pm.
This year’s performers include international performers Moses Sakala from Zambia and Thorpido from Jamaica, alongside talented local artists. Following the current pandemic procedures, some performances will be pre-taped while others will stream live, in-studio, at The Registry Theatre. Don’t miss the after-party with DJ Jahbama at 9 pm on Sunday to end the weekend.
“Recognizing that the live entertainment industry will take a while to rebound, doing a virtual festival versus no festival is an opportunity to give back to artists who have supported our festival over the years,” says Tapiwa Ziyenge, Mainstage Manager. “A GoFundMe campaign was added to our efforts this year, with goals of being able to “top up” our artists’ regular fees and support the festival’s future.”
This year, the Cultural Fashion Show features the stylings of Stella Hill and expands with the addition of The Sudanese Canadian Association of Waterloo Region and Wellington County. The fashion show was filmed on location at Waterloo Park. In the Children’s Village, children and those young at heart will enjoy colouring activities, stories, baking a Toto Coconut Cake and a history lesson by Aunty Tricia, crafts, a candy game, Kahoot, dancing, and other activities.
This cultural event is proudly funded by the City of Kitchener, the City of Waterloo, Canadian Heritage, and other supporters. For more information visit www.linkpicnicfestival.com or @LINKPicnic.
