The ComeUnity Festival with FandangObon will take place on Sunday, June 4, from1 to 5 p.m. at Westside Park, 2801 Clyde Ave. (at Boden Street) in Los Angeles.
This event, which aims to celebrate the long-established relationship between people of Japanese, Mexican and African ancestries in Los Angeles, features healthy international food, cooking demos/workshops, children’s art activities, taiko drum workshops, neighborhood story-sharing, and dancing, culminating with Great Leap’s FandangObon.
FandangObon convenes into one circle, the participatory music and dance traditions of fandango of Vera Cruz, Mexico, rooted in African, Mexican and indigenous music; Japanese Buddhist Obon circle dances in remembrance of ancestors; and West African dance and drums of Nigeria and New Guinea.
“In this current, divisive political climate, we must show the historical and current friendship among our diverse communities,” Great Leap said in a statement. “We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate the beauty of our distinct cultural identities, and believe that these distinctions applies to all of us in Los Angeles and beyond. It is in the spirit of working together that we will achieve unity.”
Participating community organizations include All Peoples Community Center, Artivist Entertainment, Boyle Heights Fruit & Vegetable Co-op, Carmel Partners and the La Cienega/Jefferson Project, Form follows Function, Great Leap Inc., Green Grounds Los Angeles, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, and Sustainable Little Tokyo.
For more information, call Great Leap at (213) 534-7163 or visit www.greatleap.org.