Portsmouth's Umoja Festival
Portsmouth recently hosted the 18th annual Umoja festival. For two and a half days, the city's waterfront was transformed into an image of its sister city Eldoret, Kenya as visitors experienced the sights, sounds and smells of Africa. The festival included ethnic food, hand-crafted wares and contemporary and ancient music. The Umoja festival is one of the largest events in Virginia celebrating African American heritage.
Drummers with The Suwabi African Ballet of Norfolk's Attucks Theatre performed at the festival.
Portsmouth Parks and Recreation employee Tony Colden has helped coordinate the festival every year.
Mae Breckinridge-Haywood, President of the African American Historical Society of Portsmouth.
From left, D.J. Smith and Lt. Wilder of the Portsmouth Fire Department and Officer O'Brien of the Portsmouth Police Department cooled off in the heat.
Ghana-born Portsmouth residents Mawuli and Yawa Mensah with their children Mawutoh and Mawusi.
