Waya Sponsors The Madaraka Festival in Seattle
One Vibe will be hosting the eighth annual Madaraka Festival on August 13th and 14th. The festival will feature Africa’s best musicians and creatives, as well as world-renowned artists and innovators. The event will be held from 2:00 pm at Pier 62 at Waterfront Park in Seattle, Washington, and will include live musical performances, African food, and art!
Madaraka Festival’s impact on the community
We are happy to be sponsoring the event by virtue of Madaraka Festival proceeds going towards One Vibe Africa’s education programs in Kenya. We believe in the fulfilling cause of supporting educational programs in our community. We aim to make Madaraka Festival an annual pilgrimage for African-Americans and other Africans living in the diaspora who have a deep desire to continuously connect with their motherland, Africa.
Over the past five years, Madaraka Festival has supported One Vibe to:
- Provide music education for 1,000 Kenyan children through EMAP in Kisumu.
- Create a recording & video production studio to enhance the effectiveness of these programs, and generate income for the organization.
- Raise seed capital for 106 women entrepreneurs from three Kenyan slums.
- Make Madaraka the Documentary, which is an original film that embodies a spirit of freedom while fostering partnership and collaboration between filmmakers, innovators, entrepreneurs across Africa, and the diaspora.
- Offer an opportunity for African-Americans to participate in cultural exchanges.
Madaraka Festival happened virtually in 2020, while in 2021, Madaraka Festival took place at Bellevue Youth Theatre’s outdoor amphitheater 2021 where it was headlined by Grammy Award-winning reggae artist Pato Banton. Madaraka Festival has been attracting thousands of attendees each year since 2014, reaching an audience of over 15 million people annually. It empowers diversity and inclusion in the local community. Madaraka Festival is unique because it brings together people from different cultures and countries for one week. It helps foster relationships among these groups and encourages them to share their culture. This year’s event was a culmination of an extensive week of activities in Kisutu, Kenya where OneVibeAfrica originated. Together, this group of creatives continues to serve as a support system for Madaraka Festival – with over 30 million social media reach as a combined internet ecosystem. Madaraka Festival will celebrate African and African American culture this year by honoring it and elevatin
Why do we believe in sponsoring such events
We believe in Simplicity- We believe in simple solutions, and as a financial technology company, focused on the immigrant community, we believe Madaraka Festival simplifies how our community can support and connect with their home countries. By simply enhancing international cultural and creative collaboration, One Vibe is able to bring people together and collect proceeds that mentor youth by promoting arts and innovation, within two days!
We believe in doing good- We believe fostering inclusivity creates impact and is the only way to develop. We see the world through one lens, we are all equal and should all access equal opportunities. Madaraka Festival is an embodiment of doing good with over 800 young people in Kenya benefiting from the creative hub that has become their home and created job opportunities for them. We believe this is the essence of life, to do good.
We believe in partnership- We believe we are stronger together. Alone, we cannot fulfill our mission, alone, we cannot provide all solutions. That is why we believe in teamwork and work with other corporations, organizations, and companies to help each other fulfill our visions. Partnering with Madaraka Festival and One Vibe Africa promotes social welfare and economic empowerment and by ripple effect, it lessens neighborhood conflict and reduces community deterioration, and juvenile incarceration.
Among other collaborating organizations are Converge Media, Community Good Church, RVC, Langston, Wa Na Wari Productions, N333D Creative Studios, Northwest Film Forum, Northwest Folklife Festival, Microsoft Corporation, and other organizations, supporters, and partners to bring you the 2022 Madaraka Festival.
What The Madaraka Festival is known for?
- This is a great way to experience Kenyan culture knowing that:
- The festival is a celebration of Kenya’s independence
- The festival features a parade through the city
- The festival features traditional Kenyan music
- The festival features traditional food vendors
- The festival features other attractions like artists ad performances
- The festival usually includes an appearance by the Kenyan Ambassador to Kosovo
Who will be performing at the 2-day Madaraka Festival?
This is the artist lineup for your favorite performances as you grab your Madaraka festival tickets! The founder of OneVibeAfrica and MadarakaFest, Simon Okelo, has curated a lineup for the festival which will be revealed as we get closer to its date.
This year’s headline act is D’Banj.
Other artists include
Cheekychizzy, Rell Be Free, Emmanuel Jal, Naomi Achu, Lace Cadence, Fredy Muks, Dj Hkeem, Stormrex, Meaku, Lil Champ Otamp, Yirim Seck, Yadesa Bojia, Simon Okelo, Odhis Jabomas, Frank Ulwenya, DJELIYAH BAND, Kouyaté Arts, COMFORT FOOD BAND, The Ancient Robotz
Hosts
Some of the International Artists who have graced the festival since 2014:- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who headlined Madaraka Festival in 2014; Rocky Dawuni, Sauti Sol, Aramide, Nazizi, Bensoul, Otieno Terry, Khaligraph Jones, CBK, The Swahili Jazz Band, Shamir, Wendy Kemunto, DioMara, Moseh the Drummist, General Mutumbo, Boutross, Gabiro Mtu Necessary, Mitchelle Omondi, Lake Vibe Band, Lee Roy.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures we shared with you from this successful event.
We look forward to having you at the premier African-influenced festival for the cultural extravaganza. Follow Waya on LinkedIn for more insights on exclusive content in our community.
Grace Finance
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