Back to Angola Festival Returns to Bradenton to Celebrate Maroon Community Heritage
Bradenton Mineral Springs Park will once again host the annual Back to Angola Festival March 7 and 8, offering a weekend-long celebration of the rich history and culture of the Angola Maroon community that once thrived along the Manatee River. The free event is presented by Oaktree Community Outreach Inc. and runs from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Manatee Mineral Springs Park, 1312 2nd Avenue East in Bradenton.
The festival honors over 200 years of shared history by bringing the community together for live music, cultural performances, panel discussions, and oral history presentations. Visitors can browse vendor booths and community exhibits and enjoy Bahamian and African-inspired food available for purchase. Cultural demonstrations will include basket weaving, wood carving and Junkanoo dance workshops culminating in a traditional “rush out” performance that reflects the vibrant cultural legacy of the community.
The Back to Angola Festival traces its roots to the centuries-old Angola settlement, a thriving Maroon community of formerly enslaved Africans and their descendants that lived along the Manatee River in the early 1800s before being displaced after Florida became a U.S. territory. Archaeological research at the site, part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, has helped rediscover and commemorate Angola's history and legacy in the region.
Organizers encourage families, history enthusiasts and culture seekers to attend, learn through engaging hands-on activities and dialogue with historians, storytellers and descendants, and immerse themselves in the rich heritage of Southwest Florida’s early freedom-seeking communities.
