By Mike McClure
The 28th Annual Eastern Shore AFRAM Festival will take place at a familiar site this year as the event returns to the Seaford Sports Complex/Jays Nest, located at 490 N Market Street Ext. in Seaford from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9.
After being held at the Ross Mansion for the last few years, the event returns to its previous location. AFRAM was originally held at Nutter Park, for about 15 years, before outgrowing that location and moving to the sports complex. The festival was unable to return to Ross Mansion this year for financial reasons.
“Now we’re back home, you can come back home,” said AFRAM Executive Director Pat A. Jones. “I’m looking forward to settling down in the nest. The blue jay is my favorite bird.”
The Eastern Shore AFRAM Festival is sponsored by OUTLOUD, LLC, Cornerstone Community Center and the Eastern Shore AFRAM Festival, Inc. Jones said she is planning to hold the event for three more years but will continue to hold cultural events after AFRAM. The group has been partnering with St. John’s Church to hold the Dr. Martin Luther King Breakfast on Martin Luther King Day. The organization needs funding and sponsors in order to keep it a free event.
Among the events planned for this year’s AFRAM Festival are: 5K Walk for change, horseshoe tournament, soul stepping, double dutch session, Little Miss AFRAM pageant, gospel hour, local talent showcase, line dancing, and the one man band Orlando Phillips returns to the festival to perform. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m.
Vendor spaces are being reserved now. See the special AFRAM section in the July 31 issue of the Seaford and Laurel Star for more on this year’s event.
