The African World Festival will take place at Detroit’s Hart Plaza for the first time in nearly a decade. But many of those who attend the 39th annual event, which takes place July 15-17, will have to pay to do so for the first time.
Jamon Jordan, a Detroit city historian and festival host, said the admission fee is significant at a time when Americans are facing rising costs for car fuel and food.
“People who have been conditioned for the past few years to go to the Charles H. Wright Museum will be surprised that there is a price of admission,” Jordan said.
Organized by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the festival is the largest celebration of the African diaspora in Detroit.
During one of the city’s most iconic outdoor summer events, Jordan will lead two-hour walking tours that will include the history of the Underground Railroad and Detroit’s 1963 “Walk to Freedom” march and rally. which included the participation of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
single day tickets they start at $15 for adults (ages 13 and up); $10 youth (ages 4-12); and admission is free for children under 3 years of age. Members of the Charles H. Wright Museum will be admitted to the festival free of charge. It’s not the only festival on the site that has an entrance fee. The annual Movement techno music festival has charged attendees for admission for several years. However, several outdoor festivals in the popular gathering space, including the annual Detroit Jazz Festival, are free to enter.
The annual Wright Museum membership fee for individuals is $35; $65 for families (up to two adults and four children); $25 for college students; and $15 for seniors.
Traditionally, the City of Detroit has helped fund the museum’s operations. Neil Barclay, president and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, said during a news conference Wednesday that vendors and artists requested the location change. Barclay encouraged people to become museum members and attend the festival.
“It will be much cheaper for you if you become a member,” Barclay said.
The festival has been held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in the Midtown area of the city for the past nine years. It moved to the museum grounds from Hart Plaza, in part, due to necessary capital improvements to Hart Plaza and financial challenges faced by the city of Detroit and the museum. Admission to the festival has been free for years. The Ford Foundation is the title sponsor of the festival.
“They were really excited about that move,” Barclay said.
However, attending events in the city center is more expensive than it was a decade ago. Parking fees have, in many cases, tripled during the days and nights of the event. Some city-owned lots charge between $10 and $15 to park; privately owned lots in downtown Detroit charge as much as $40 or $50 on major event days or nights. City of Detroit parking tickets have increased from $10 to $20 to $45 in recent years.
More than 150 art, book and food vendors will offer their wares during the festival. Barclay said he expects to draw more than 50,000 people over the weekend.
First held in 1983, the festival is one of Detroit’s premier outdoor summer events. Here is the Detroit Historical Society images from the first party. That year, noted visual artist Carl Owens designed the festival’s first poster, and King Sunny Ade performed. Headliners over the years have included Bronx hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa, South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela, Jamaican reggae vocalist Marcia Griffiths, and R&B and blues legend Ruth Brown and the 1980s R&B singer Freddie Jackson.
the party of 2022 headliners include Flint’s Mama Sol; vocalist Lizz Wright; the Wailers, the group that once featured reggae legend Bob Marley; Seun Kuti, the youngest son of Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti. He will also perform “We Are Scorpio” with Detroit-born poet Jessica Care Moore and singer-songwriter Steffanie Christi’an, as well as Motor City blues singer Lady Champagne.
“AWF is a cultural institution in Detroit and I’ve never missed one,” said Marsha Philpot, Detroit cultural leader. “With this year’s changes, accessibility will be a challenge for many, including me. I hope I can do it this time.”
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