Celebrating 8 Years of SAFAS
Our first event was in August 2015…and we’ve only continued to grow since.
This year we held our 8th annual Siouxland African Festival (SA-Fest 2023).
This event used to be called African Night, and it started in August 2015. It was originally sponsored by the Native African Christian Fellowship, a ministry that was started by a few Africans in Siouxland who were yearning for a way to worship and fellowship in the traditional African way. Pastor Derrick Okine and Pastor Roger Madden from First United Methodist Church (FUMC) came together with the support of FUMC congregation and provided a meeting space. The group started meeting weekly for fellowship in 2014.
The group then started a festival called african night.
The name was “African Night” because originally, and for a couple years thereafter, the event was held late afternoon to evening for about 2 hours. For the first 5 years, it was held at the fellowship hall of FUMC on 1915 Nebraska Street. Over the years, the event has gotten larger, with now 500+ people in attendance. The need to have an event that embraces all Africans regardless of their religious, geographical, or ethnic background became imperative.
Now, our group works together to preserve all African groups, and includes Christian, Moslem, and Traditional non-religious groups.
