We have been brought together to mingle with distinct cultures through the venue of festivals. Various festivals represent various reasons to celebrate life. 

Festivals give us a reason to get together with people and commemorate festivities that possess cultural significance. 

This article highlights 10 of the best world festivals for black travelers that offer a reason to celebrate the many marvels of life despite its difficulties and challenges. 

Music is capable of spreading colors of joy in one's life in a remarkable way. It helps change a person in a much more positive way, changing their perspective towards life and making their spirits go high. 

Take a look at the 10 best world festivals for black travelers for 2023, and don't forget to include them in your travel diary.

1. AfroNation

It is time for the world to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness of African cultural music. Obi Asika, a Nigerian tycoon conceptualized AfroNation in 2019 to the world in collaboration with Aesegun Adeos Jr., a Nigerian music proponent. 

During the outbreak of Coronavirus globally, the festival ceased to take place for two years, but 2022 is the year that welcomes this festival with open arms. This music festival is currently one of the world's most popular music festivals. 

The specialty of this festival is due to the genre that plays in this three-day event. Initially, it was a four-day event but ever since the pandemic entered our lives, though unwelcomingly, the event now takes place for a period of three days. 

The goal of this festival was to bring together the best African artists from all around on a single platform. Although Obi Asika founded it in collaboration with SMADE and Asegun Adeos, organizations like Event Horizon, Live Nation, and Memories of Tomorrow also contributed to bringing this festival to life. 

You will get to enjoy genres including Afro beats, Hip Hop, RnB, Dancehall, Amapiano, Afro House, and many other significant African music genres. Get set and ready to enjoy this festival in July 2023. Mark the date in your calendars since this opportunity should not be missed at all costs.

The founders of AfroNation did not cease to give us another festival to celebrate food, music, and fusion of cultures. This festival takes place in London to bring together music specialties from around the world. Mainly, the genres that remain the backbone of the event include sounds from Africa, the Caribbean, America, and the UK. 

This is a one-day event that allows attendees to enjoy cuisines from all around the world. Originally, its launch was planned for 2020, and the global pandemic affected the launch. The carnival took place in London in 2021, making its debut. It celebrates cultural music and food mainly from Latin America and especially from the regions of Africa, including Ghana and Nigeria. 

This event is all set to take place on August 27, 2022, in London. Music genres such as Hip Hop, RnB, Afro-swing, and Dancehall are played by various world-famous musicians and artists. This year's line-up mentions the names of C-Kay, Naira Marley, DJ Maphorisa, Flavour, Gabzy, and many more popular artists. 

South African Jazz festival, also commonly known as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, is one of the greatest music festivals celebrated in the world. This music festival takes place annually in the heart of Africa, Cape Town. People from all around the world get an opportunity to enjoy pure African cultural music. 

The foundation of this event dates back to 2000 when it made its debut as part of the North Sea Jazz Festival. It has been two decades since this music festival brings people from around the globe to witness the marvels and uniqueness of African music with their own eyes. This year, people celebrated this festival in June. A three-day event took place starting on Friday, June 17, 2022. 

The South African Jazz Music festival is an event that jazz enthusiasts worldwide keep marked on their calendars. The fusion of local and international jazz is why attendance grows each year. 

It takes two days for this event to allow more than 40 musicians and artists worldwide to perform on 5 different stages. You will find various sources of entertainment in the event, including cultural cuisines and enjoying full house performances.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an event that takes place annually. It is celebrated not only in Trinidad and parts of Africa but also in various cities all across the world. Cities including Miami, Toronto, Houston, London, and many more celebrate this carnival. It takes place every year on Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. 

This carnival associates its significance with an event that occurred in the early 18th century. The French plantation owners organized masquerades and ball, which was forbidden for the enslaved Africans to attend. The enslaved people came up with their celebration parallel to the one that French plantation owners did. 

As it is a carnival, therefore there is a lot you can do to commemorate these two days. Food, dance, and many fun activities take place that allows not just Africans but others to commemorate African music, culture, art, and food. 

People dress up in costumes. Musicians and artists display their art in the form of iconic performances. There is food from varying cultures that satisfy the taste buds of the attendees as they attend the music festival. 

5. Broccoli Festival 

Broccoli festival marks itself as one of the most iconic and culturally significant music festivals that highlight black cultural music and genres in the eyes of the world. 

It is a two-day music festival that takes place every year in May. The festival features the hip-hop genre, and many black artists line up to display their astounding talent. Artists including 21 Savage, Ari Lennox, Lil Durk, Wale, Rico Nasty, Jeezy, and many more set the stage on fire with their music. 

This festival was founded by Brandon McEachern, Marcus Allen, Darryl Perkins, and Jermon Williams. The festival aims to promote African-American music culture and fusion. Every year the event takes place in either April or May. 

6. Afropunk Festival

Another iconic music festival that black travelers must not miss is the Afropunk Festival. This is an art festival that takes place annually. The main objective of this festival is to recognize the essence of art, music, food, culture, film, and fashion brought to life by black artists. 

This festival plays a vital role in promoting black cultural art and music while also displaying black fashion sense to the attendees. Although the event takes place to promote and celebrate the cultures and styles of Africans, however, people from all around the world join this event to witness and enjoy cultural diversity.

Cities such as Atlanta, Paris, and London also are cities that host this musical event. Since the festival is named Afropunk, therefore all you will get to notice is African culture, music, and art. 

7. Essence Festival

Also known as "the party with a purpose", the festival dates back to 1995. It was started to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a magazine called Essence that was aimed mainly at African-American women, their fashion styles, culture, art, and music. 

With time many producers changed. However, the aim remained the same, and with each passing era, it became one of the world's most celebrated festivals. 

The festival features genres including RnB, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Blues, hip hop, jazz, and much more. 

8. Something In The Water

Something In The Water is yet another music and art festival that serves to celebrate music from the regions where black people reside. 

This festival was conceptualized by Pharrel Williams in 2019, and since then, it has taken place annually. Virginia Beach Oceanfront hosts this festival where genres such as RnB, hip hop, rock, indie, and elect are featured.  

9. Afrochella

The world can witness another remarkable music festival that commemorates African music in the name of Afrochella. There are several reasons for its significance, but the primary one is that it aims to make Ghana a key travel destination for tourists. 

This festival displays and features African-American's most respected diaspora. This festival began when former president Barack Obama visited Cape Coast in 2009. 

10. CurlFest Festival

Curlfest festival is purely a festival that celebrates natural curly hair and natural skin tone, mainly black. This festival aims to allow people to commemorate the natural look and its beauty. 

Women dress up as naturally as they can, displaying their natural skin complexion and naturally styling their hair. 

Key Takeaway!

All these festivals, including Afrochella, Something In The Water, Afropunk, and all the festivals mentioned above aim to bring people together to celebrate the fusion of African culture in the form of art, music, cultural cuisines, and much more. 

These festivals work as a charm when it comes to introducing the cultural importance of music, art, film, fashion, and much more to the world. Since all these are popular festivals, they play a vital role in bringing people to witness the culture and music of Africans within the diaspora. 

If you love traveling, these are some of the top festivals you can look forward to attending in 2023. 

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