Pulling Together

Music rises through the air at Cascades Park where vibrant fabrics, rhythmic drums, and smiling faces energize the space. This is the Harambee Festival, a Tallahassee tradition celebrating unity through African art and culture.  

The festival is a warm and organic celebration of Black History Month, a gathering where the city shows up not out of duty but out of devotion. Before it became one of Tallahassee’s most anticipated cultural gatherings, the Harambee Festival began with a simple idea: to bring people together. 

Pulling Together—in Name and in Practice

The word harambee comes from Swahili, meaning “all pull together.” That spirit of unity inspired the festival’s founders—three women from Florida A&M University (FAMU)—to imagine a celebration that would uplift Black culture. Forty years later, that founding ethos remains intact. 

“The core purpose of the festival is to bring unity to the community, which captures the essence of FAMU’s efforts to enhance the student experience through community engagement,” says the festival’s project manager, Vernon Bryant.

What began as a campus event has grown into a city-wide celebration powered by collaboration between the university and the greater Tallahassee community. Bryant credits this collaboration for the ability to “host one of the largest regional cultural celebrations in honor of Black History Month.” 

Today, the festival’s footprint has shifted from FAMU’s campus to the Adderley Amphitheater at Cascades Park.

Photo courtesy of Visit Tallahassee

What You’ll Find

Each year, the Harambee Festival draws more than 4,000 people to Cascades Park. The day is intentionally layered.

Visitors can browse handmade crafts, African arts, books, jewelry, and clothing. The main stage keeps the crowd moving with high-energy performances that blend gospel, R&B, soul, and traditional African drumming. 

Workshops, fashion showcases, and interactive exhibits invite attendees to do more than just watch the action. Families can gather for storytelling sessions or youth performances, where the next generation will learn the value of heritage through creativity. 

Food, too, is an art form worth admiring. The aroma of Caribbean and Southern dishes reminds everyone that culture can be tasted as much as it can be heard or seen. 

Photo courtesy of Visit Tallahassee

Culture, Connection

The Harambee Festival is a reflection of the Tallahassee’s vibrant, inclusive heart. It gives people from all backgrounds a space to celebrate, reflect, and connect,
allowing them to “engage with the community and continue building a strong relationship with the university and the city,” in Bryant’s words. 

That relationship is visible in the crowd itself, where friends explore, alumni return home, families witness culture in motion, and longtime residents stand shoulder to shoulder with youth in the same spirit of shared pride.  

Looking Ahead 

The 2026 Harambee Festival will once again transform Cascades Park into a canvas of culture, rhythm, and unity on February 28, 2026. It is free and open to the public. Whether visitors come for the music, the food, or the art, they’ll leave with something more: a reminder of what becomes possible when a community pulls together.