Casandra Turnbull
Managing Editor | Grant Haven Media
The Afro-CariBrant Festival returned this past weekend, bigger and stronger than ever, expanding from a one-day celebration in its first two years to a two-day cultural showcase in 2025.
Organizers say the growth is proof of the community’s embrace of the event, which celebrates the African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) culture through music, food, art and storytelling. In 2024, the festival drew 4,022 attendees. This year, attendance records were broken on opening day alone.
“On Saturday we had already recorded 4,000 attendees,” said festival co-founder Tobi Adedayo. Both the feedback and turnout have been positively overwhelming. After extending the festival to two days this year, people are already asking for more.
The weekend featured live performances, drumming circles, dance, arts and crafts, a kids’ zone and a wide variety of food vendors. Vendors were carefully curated to reflect the diversity of African and Caribbean traditions.
“It’s about having proper vendors that will cater to the community,” Adedayo said. “The Afro-CariBrant Festival is about showing the diverse delicacies of the many countries in the African continent.”
For organizers, the event is about more than entertainment. It is also about creating understanding and connection.
“The purpose of the event is exposing people to new culture and celebrating culture,” said Adedayo. “It’s what you don’t know that you are afraid of. But once you begin to see and you understand the culture there is more understanding of cultural differences.”
Festival organizer Essay Folami explained that the roots of Afro-CariBrant lie in a desire to give back.
“It originated from our for-profit business. We run Darmont Entertainment.. We run an events management incorporated,” Folami said. “We wanted to give back to the community and that is how we gave back through Darmont GivesBack. It’s how we support charity in the community. What better way of impacting our community if people know each other? If you know where I’m from, if you know each other’s culture you’ll learn to respect each. And that is how Afro-CariBrant Festival came to be.”
Darmont GivesBack began as the charitable arm of Darmont Entertainment and now stands as its own organization. The festival is one of its flagship initiatives, but the organization runs several other programs to support families and entrepreneurs locally and abroad.
The grassroots organization is rooted in empowerment, equity and cultural celebration, working to uplift underrepresented groups through education, mentorship, and support programs.
Among its initiatives are:
CoB-NISH (County of Brant – Newcomer Integration Support Hub): Helps newcomers build roots through orientation, wraparound services, mentorship and access to local resources.
PluggedIn Brant: A business development platform that supports Black-owned and newcomer-led businesses with mentorship, funding pathways and visibility in the local market.
R.O.O.T.S. (Raising Our Offspring Together for Success): An educational parent support hub for ACB families, providing workshops, mentorship and wellness supports to help parents navigate the school system and advocate for their children.
Folami highlighted the R.O.O.T.S. program, which supports ACB parents and children in Brant, Brantford and neighbouring communities.
“Roots is our way of supporting the African Caribbean Black community in the County of Brant, Brantford and neighbouring areas,” Folami said. “It takes a village to raise a child, that kind of family support. Roots is geared towards providing stability and support for parents, their children.”
Beyond Canada, Darmont GivesBack also funds scholarships and supports medical missions in Africa.
For Adedayo and Folami, who both live in Paris, the Afro-CariBrant Festival represents the culmination of their efforts to create space for culture, understanding and unity in the community.