Weather became one to bear early in the morning when forecasters at the National Weather Service report of storms brewing and could hit the Philadelphia region anytime on Saturday.

However, that would not deter thousands of music lovers who came out to see live the star of lovers rock, Maxi Priest in Philadelphia.

With the highs in Philadelphia near 87 and the lows around 68 and the cold front passing through, music aficionados including people of African descend, African Americans, Asians, White Americans, Europeans, etc mingled and celebrated oneness as they danced to the traditional African drum beats, saxophones, electric guitars, etc at the multicultural event organized by the African Cultural Alliance of North America (ACANA).

Maxi Priest, who is among the most internationally well-known reggae artists, headlined the ACANA’s African Festival late in the program when he appeared on stage swinging his dreadlock hairdo. Liberian singer and guitarist Gebah Swaray performed, too.

And there were plenty of activities, crafts, food and more throughout the day at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing on Columbus Boulevard at Market Street.

The event at the beautiful Philadelphia waterfront, Penn’s Landing, featured some of the most versatile, multi-faceted artists in the industry. These musicians and dancers, including the Kulu Mele Dance Troupe,  IMHOTEP Dance Ensemble, Universal Dance & Drum Ensemble, Nana Korantemaa and the African Ensemble, soulful jazz singer, Barbara Walker and her group, Rose Brown, etc.

These performing artists and groups not only set the stage on fire with their electric performances, but they also distinguished themselves as music educators, composers, arrangers, producers, activists, and business managers. Deeply ingrained in the industry, they presented their best on stage to the delight of the roaring crowd who yearned for more.

The Festival was a free event to the public due to the generous support major sponsors including Councilwomen Jannie I. Blackwell, Comcast, PECO, Kimmel Center, and Mayor’s Commission on African & Caribbean Affairs, Sonoco, Brown’s Family Shop Rite, Chester Avenue Business Association, State Representative Roland G. Walters, and Liberian United Women in progress, Cozen and Fortress Communications.

The Master of Ceremony Mannwell Glen with Co-host Christine Lawrence Maycole of LUWIP thrilled the audience with interlude of African cultural awareness. In one of them, they tried to explain to the crowd some of the misconceptions normally associated with Africa and its people.

The African festival with an incredible theme “Bridging the Gap” was a huge success. The event was attended by an array of top city officials including one of the most popular Councilwomen, Jannie Blackwell, who challenged Africans and African Americans to work together. She also used the occasion to appeal to African Americans to know more about their root.

Sheriff Street, the son of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street congratulated ACANA and assured them of his organization’s continued supports. Appearing on stage with his daughter, Sheriff said he was proud of the work ACANA has been and continues to do in bridging the gap between Africans and African Americans and the larger American society.

Also addressing the mammoth crowd was the Chairman of the Major Commission on Africans and Caribbean Affairs, Stanley Straughter who called on ACANA to organize more of such event to help build a stronger cultural ties between Africans from Africa and their brothers and sisters in the USA so that they would understand there deep relations.

“We have skyscrapers, we have good and expensive cars and we don’t live with wild animals like it is believed in the US,” said Christine.

“This is the one cultural event in Philadelphia that we start getting calls about,” said Abraham Walker, who spearheaded the project from the ACANA’s Arts and Culture Department. Abe overwhelmed with the turnout confidently rapped his happiness and his success in few words. “This is my first project and with the way things are going, I am ready for an even bigger one come next year.”

Associate Justice Makes Surprise Appearance at ACANA Event

Making a surprise appearing at the event was Liberia's Associate Justice Kabineh Jan'eh, who thanked the United States for contributions it continues to make for the sustenance of peace in Liberia.

“We are very grateful for all that you continue to do for Liberia and we hope that an event like would be organized in a multiply way so that all of us can developed the culture of tolerance, a culture that will allow economic development, a culture that will allow peace in Liberia forever. Once again, thanks for the support. May the cultural relation between Liberia and America continues to grow."

This year Festival embraces the opportunity to once again expand and enhance the PECO multicultural series. New this year to the multicultural series is the ACANA (African Cultural Alliance of North America) African Festival. This series continues to celebrate the diverse cultures which make Philadelphia unique city.

Supporting the cultural diversity has always been a longstanding goal for ACANA, which has sponsored series of annual multicultural festivals in the Philadelphia area. Those events, including the dedication of a cultural mural in the heart of southwest Philly, are among the testimonies of how far the two peoples have come in bridging the gap.

Abe and his cohorts at ACANA are thrilled that the past weeks leading to the Saturday event was not a wasted effort. "All of us at ACANA are thrilled to return again to the waterfront to support the multicultural festivals," said Abe.

Voffee Jabateh, ACANA’s CEO thanked the entire artists for their stunning performances, the sponsors for their donations that allow ACANA to host a free event and the jubilant crowd for defying the odds of the weather report and came out in force and celebrated the African culture