Pan-African Festival back this weekend for 25th anniversary

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)– After several losses in 2020, business owners Doretha and David McClinton, are happy to see the Pan African Festival of Georgia back in downtown Macon again.

“We’re hoping for some numbers and people to come out,” Doretha McClinton said. “That’s really our prayer because we were hit tremendously hard.”

The pair own DnD Fashion as well as DnD Burgers. They have participated in the Pan African Festival for the past five years. The business owners said the cancellation last year was devastating.

“We ended up closing in the pandemic because people couldn’t try on clothes and people couldn’t enter the store” Doretha explained.  “So we were really hurt concerning our business, and we suffered a great loss.”

The cancellation was difficult for the Tubman Museum as well. However, Museum Director Harold Young says they used the sadness as motivation to plan the biggest festival yet.

“People are really excited about it and we really appreciate it. Now, we want to be careful because we’re still in the middle of a pandemic but we still want to have a good time as well,” stated Young.

The festival will have the same dancing, music, and traditional festivities but with a few changes.

“We have free COVID vaccines we’ll be distributing from Scott’s Pharmacy,” Young said. “We’ll also have testing as well, with lots of food trucks and lots of entertainment.”

The celebration will take place at Macon Centerplex on Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2. Admission is $5 this year for anyone over 6 years old. The Tubman Museum also asks that you remember to wear a mask.

For more information on the Pan African Festival of Georgia, click here.