Odunde Festival
Philadelphia Zoo
3400 W Girard Ave.
Philadelphia
August 8, 2026
My history with the Odunde Festival began around 2013, when I started working at the now defunct South Street location of Honey’s Sit N’ Eat. Every June, usually the first weekend, South Street from around 15th to 23rd is shut down for the country’s largest African American Street Festival. There are artisans, dancers, and chefs all sharing themselves and their work, and Honey’s (which was on 21st and South) was smack dab in the middle. It’s a beautiful experience of the culture that I’m proud to call my own, and every time I find myself at the festival, I have an amazing time. Do you know, however, what it’s like to smell macaroni and cheese prepared the right way for hours on end, right outside your place of business, only for the stock to have run out by the time you finish your shift? If you don’t, I pray you never know that pain.
Odunde365 is the initiative that seeks to spread the spirit of the festival to the rest of the year, promoting Black and African cultural exposure through events all around the city. This weekend, Odunde365 and the Philadelphia Zoo partnered to host a family event, and I took the opportunity to check it out and do something uncharacteristically wholesome. As a childless, single man who often begins his day at 2 p.m., I usually don’t have much occasion to be in environments like this. Walking by the exceedingly anatomically correct statue of a small pride of lions at the zoo’s entrance, I thought about the necessity of balance in life, and how I would be adding to my own by promoting this annual event to anyone with a family to raise whose children could learn something new here. This partnership between Odunde365 and the zoo is already in its fourth or fifth year, which means that anyone who missed out today can plan for the experience next summer by staying tapped in at Odundefestival.org/365.
Held in the zoo’s courtyard around a large fountain featuring sculptures of running gazelles, I didn’t have to walk for very long from the entrance before I was in the midst of the festival. For many zoo attendees, the festival was an unseen perk of the day’s trip, but it was more than clear that a number of kids and adults of all backgrounds were all more than happy to partake in the merch giveaways, book fair, arts and crafts, henna and body painting, dance and drum circle that comprised the events of the day. The first thing I saw was a wonderful performance from the dance troupe Imani Dream, providing me with one of the cutest photographs I’ve ever taken.
Afterwards I perused the children’s book fair; pleased was I to see that the enduring classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is still platinum in these streets, while newer (to me) Black titles like "Max and the Tag-Along Moon," "Change Sings," and "Going Home With Daddy" were also available for purchase. I spoke with festival organizer Bumi, who has her own event for young entrepreneurs that you can register your child for here. I got a pic of a stilt performer and also ate a pretzel with wiz. All of these activities were in wait for what I considered the main event, which was the drum circle. If you know me, you know I love and live for a drum. I knew that I would have to give priority to any kid who wanted to learn some rhythms, but if there was an open drum, it was to be branded with my name and handprints that day.
Drum teachers Sekou and Hasan had an array of djembes for the children, their parents, and, hopefully, me, to try out. The first round of drummers filled out the capacity for available djembes, so back I sat as I watched the first lesson. Sekou explained that they would be learning a rhythm called Koukou (sometimes spelled Kuku), a high energy, celebratory rhythm that is considered the most popular of the introductory African rhythms. I nodded and clapped along as children and adults alike muddled their way through the pattern, while Sekou and Hasan slowly turned the rhythm into an increasingly complex set of cadences. When it came time to rotate, I stood, ready to accept my djembe, seeing one close to me as others had been taken up. I was just about to sit down before I saw a small throng of children being herded in my direction by a chaperone. Knowing that this would be a fight I could never win spiritually or physically, and remembering my inner resolve to let the children have priority, I quietly slunk away from the drums. It was time to leave.
Still, this is the perfect summer event for families of all backgrounds and you should absolutely tap in with Odunde365 to stay abreast of their future offerings. I leave you with this video of the majority of Imani Dream’s routine.
