BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The African Food and Culture Festival returns to the Kern County Fairgrounds on October 12th at 3 p.m. after being put on hold after the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Video shows preparations for African Food and Culture Festival
- Bridget Agbonkhese, founder of SB Creative Events, will showcase traditional Nigerian cuisine.
- Richard Ocheing, African Association representative, expresses excitement for the festival's return post-pandemic.
- The event features African country booths with food, fashion, artifacts, and cultural showcases.
Although the Kern County Fair wrapped up on September 29th, another fun-filled event will make its way to the fairgrounds on Saturday, bringing a taste of Africa to Bakersfield.
It's said that culture is the collection of beliefs, behaviors, and customs usually from specific regions, but when a member of that culture leaves the region, the culture lives on.
"I started cooking six years ago, but my mom was a caterer back in Nigeria," Bridget Agbonkhese, the founder and CEO of SB Creative Events, said.
That's what Agbonkhese did by bringing her traditional Nigerian recipes to Bakersfield.
"Right here we have the ingredients for a soup, a spinach soup," Agbonkhese said. "In Nigeria, we call it efo riro."
Agbonkhese's traditional Nigerian cuisine will be one of many African foods and cultures featured at the 2nd annual African Food and Culture Festival.
"I mean we're all out here far from home, and it's an opportunity for us to feel at home," Richard Ocheing, a representative for the African Association of Kern County, said.
Ocheing immigrated to the states from Kenya and says they hosted their first African Food and Culture Festival in 2019 with hopes to continue annually, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down plans to continue until now.
"I have been so excited for this moment," Ocheing said. "I didn't sleep last night. I was trying to see what am I going to wear? What am I going to take? I like to represent my country. I like to represent my culture."
The dancing continues at this year's festival at the Kern County Fairgrounds on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"People really liked it so let's give it to them again," he said.
African country booths will showcase the food, fashion, artifacts, and culture from each region with hopes to encourage the attendees to visit Africa.
"It's a fun-filled environment," Agbonkhese said. Honestly, we love parties, so it's really really fun to be in Lagos city. You should be there."
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