Back to Angola Festival

Oaktree Community Outreach Inc. is hosting the "Back to Angola Festival", this FREE cultural and historical 3-day festival commemorates the Angola Maroon Community that once made their home at the Manatee Mineral Spring (circa 1812 - 1821). This public humanities program and community festival celebrates, pays homage to, and disseminates the story of the Black Seminole settlement "Angola", its history, its inhabitants, and the resilience of its descendants who made a new home in Red Bays Andros, in The Bahamas in 1821. The theme for the 2023 festival is "The Shoulders We Stand On". The event occurs Oct 20-22, 2023 at the Manatee Mineral Spring Park, at the East terminal of the Riverwalk in Bradenton, Florida. The event features: panel discussions by historians, archaeologists, descendants and community leaders; workshops in basket weaving, wood carving and Junkanoo; food and music of The Bahamas. This event is funded in part from grants from the Florida Humanities, and Bradenton Area Convention Center.