Lolade Sowoolu
10 January 2009
Nigerian-born music sensation Emma Agu will headline unparalleled musical and cultural dance entertainment at the African Inaugural Ball in the United States on Jan. 18.
Agu, a New York-based artist known to his fans as "Alabama," will perform his hit song "Obama: The Wind of Çhange" live, at the event celebrating the event celebrating the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett will welcome African and Caribbean political and business leaders to the Washington suburb for an evening of festivities that kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland.
All over the world there is a wind of change blowing," said Agu, whose scheduled performance has generated a buzz on Facebook, the social network site.
"Obama: The wind of change" is based on the actualization of change we can believe in and that wind is blowing all over the world."
Entertainment offerings at the African Inaugural Ball include a Nigerian cultural dance presentation, as well as musical performances by Balla Tounkara, Mali's great griot and master kora player, and Ikeme Fassett, who will perform with Zimbabwe's traditional mbira instrument.
Kenya's stand up comic Edwin Okong'o a. k. a "Obama Cousin," will host the celebration. The best of Soukous, Makossa, Afro Beat and Reggae music will keep the party going until midnight.
"African Inaugural Ball will bring people of all races to a standout celebration in recognition of Sen. Barack Obama's historic election as the 44th president of the United States of America, said Dr. Uche Onyebadi, a journalism professor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, who serves as vice president of corporate affairs at The African Foundation, organizers of the African Inaugural Ball.
African and Caribbean political and business leaders, diplomats and dignitaries, as well as American political, business and community leaders, are expected at the event.
Dinner will precede the entertainment aspect of the celebration.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
