Week of 6th May: The Champion Sportsman, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Caribbean Family Fun Day, Ghana elections, China in Africa, Images of Black Women Festival, Black Heroes Walk

Hello

As we are relaxing/ chillaxing this Bank Holiday Weekend Proud to be African Clothing is happy to present you with another smorgasbord of events to keep you in touch with African affairs this week. We have African literature with Noo Saro-Wiwa Looking for Transwonderland and ‘Tired of being Black? Try being Irish’, we have theatre with our good friend Ade Solanke reading from her new play East End Boys and West End Girls, The Royal African Society on China in Africa and statistics, music with Femi Kuti and the Positive Force. Film premieres with The Champion Sportsman and Rising from the Ashes, Images of Black Women Festival Film Screening and Caribbean Fun Day. 100 Black Men of Londons Heroes Walk in Brockwell Park. Something for every body, every day take a look below!!

Monday 6^th May

From 9.00am to 11.30pm we have the Caribbean Family Fun Day at North Middlesex Cricket Club, Park Road, N8 8JJ. The day will involve, 20x20 cricket tournament with 4 teams , steel pan, masquerades in carnival costume, a bouncy castle, pony rides, face painting, adult buckaroo, large garden games, tug of war,  mixed 5 a side football, dominoes tournament, steel pan and carnival tutorials, various stalls and an after party hosted by Martin Jay in the community hall. Tickets are £3.00 for children, £5.00 for adults and £12.00 for a family (2 adults, 2 children), children under 5 FREE from here. 

At 6.30pm Free Word hosts Tired of Being Black? Try being Irish at Free Word, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA. Gabriel Gbadamosi (author of Vauxhall) and Colin Grant (author of Bageye at the Wheel) discuss their books which both involve child narrators who act as go betweens between black and white worlds, in this night that mixes readings with debates. Admission is £5.00 (£3.00 concs) from here.

Tuesday 7^th May

At 5.30pm Kings College London presents Ghana’s 2012 Elections: Trends and the Way Froward in the War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07), Kings College, Strand Campus, The Strand, WC2R 2LS. With Dr Michael Amoah (Middlesex University) who will be discussing Ghana’s most recent election and what the trends from previous elections show. Followed by a drinks reception, register for this FREE event by email.

From 6.00pm to 8.00pm the Royal African Society hosts the book launch of The Morality of China in Africa at the Brunei Suite, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG. This book is a collection of essays gathering the African and Chinese perspectives on Chinas place in Africa. Speakers include the books editor Professor Stephen Chan (SOAS), Dr Hong Bo (SOAS) and Professor Daniel Large (Central European University).  RSVP this FREE event here. 

At 8.30pm The Images of Black Women Festival Film Screenings will be at the Africa Centre, 38 King Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8JT. Films to be screened include the documentary Ancestral Voices: Esoteric African Knowledge about African religions, Yennenga about the 12^th century Burkina Faso legend of Princess Yennenga, Yellow Fever a short film from Kenya featuring a mixture of animation and performing bodies. Tickets are £5.00 from here.

Wednesday 8^th May

 At 6.00pm the Royal Africa Society presents ‘Poor Numbers: how we are misled by African Development Statistics and What to do about it’ in the Brunei Suite at SOAS. Chaired by Dr Deborah Johnston (SOAS) with Morten Jeryen (Simon Fraser University) and Judith Randel (Development Initiatives). This event discusses the Poor Numbers the first statistical analysis of the production and use of African economic development statistics. RSVP this FREE event here.

At 6.00pm is the Art of ......Exhibition at 639 Galleries, 639 Tottenham High Road, N17 8BD. This series of exhibitions will celebrate Tottenham’s creative’s and features artists such as Ayesha Feisal, Cezanne, Edward Ofusu, Ade Ogundimo and more. This FREE exhibition runs until 22^nd May.

Thursday 9^th May

At 6.20pm The Prisma hosts Multiculturalism in the UK: has it any future? in Committee Room 10, The House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, SW1A 0AA. Hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP, with panellists Abdullah al Andalusi (international speaker), Claudio Chipana Gutierrez (Latin American Recognition Campaign), Nigel Pocock (social scientist) and Zita Holbourne (Writer and poet) debating the effectiveness and purpose of multiculturalism in the UK. RSVP for this FREE event here. 

At 6.30pm is the first in the Fashion Africa Business Workshops Series at The Hub King Cross, 34b York Way, Kings Cross, N1 9AB. This is a 4 week intensive program to five design entrepreneurs the tips, tools, strategies and resources to be able to build and grown your own African focussed fashion business. Areas of study include Design skills for the African market, designing with African textiles and techniques, sourcing and production in Africa, working with international factories, mills and print houses understanding FOB prices, minimum order quantities and costing, sales and marketing and more. Tickets for this 4 week course start from £120.00 from here.

At 7.00pm we have Femi Kuti and the Positive Force at Koko, 1a Camden High Street, Camden, NW1 7JE, so of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and legend in his own right, Femi will be bringing his Saxophone and the Shrine to London for one night only, supported by 9 piece reggae band Resonators, tickets for this awesome awesomeness start from £20.00 from here. Everybody say Yeah Yeah!

At 7.00pm is the London Premiere of Rising From the Ashes at the Odeon West End, Leicester Square, 40 Leicester Street, WC2H 7LP. Narrated by Hollywood actor Forest Whittaker this feature length documentary is about cycling legends move to Rwanda to help a group of struggling genocide survivors pursue their dream of a national team. The evening will include a champagne reception and be followed by a Q&A with the film maker and key figures from Team Rwanda. Tickets are £45.00 from here.

At 7.15pm is the Caribbean Literary Salon at Free Word, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA. with two writers from Jamaica Kerry Young reading from her new novel Gloria and Ronnie McGrath whose poetry is influenced by surrealism and striking politically charged realism. Hosted by Kevin Le Gendre tickets are £8.00 (£5.00 concs) from here. 

Friday 10^th May

At 8.30pm is the Images of Black Women Festival Film Screenings at the Africa Centre. The screening will include the UK premiere of The Naked Option: A Last Resort a documentary about women in Nigeria fighting against government corruption and Cameroonian Women in Motion revolving around women’s involvement in women’s’ day. Followed by a Q&A tickets are £5.00 from here. 

At 10.00pm is the UK premiere of the Nollywood film The Champion Sportsman at Odeon Cinema, Bugsby Way, Greenwich, SE10 0QJ. Directed by Azubuike Erinugha and starring John Okafor, Patience Ozokwor, Sandra Achums, Stephan Lohse, Andy Edelbut and Mimi Beaufort-Spontin, this comedy drama is about Okoro Ajonuma who sneaks into Germany with a very ‘wrong’ passport, when the origins of his documents are revealed Okoro tries to manipulate his way through linguistic, legal, financial and even sporting realities. Filmed on location in both Germany and Nigeria the premiere will be hosted by the award winning director of The Mirror Boy and Last Flight to Abuja Obi Emelonye and will start with live stand up comedy. All this with tickets starting from just £15.00 from here!

Saturday 11^th May

From 12.00pm to 5.00pm the 100 Black Men of London presents Black Heroes Walk 2013 at The Bandstand, Clapham Common, Windmill Drive, SW4 9DE. This is a 5km sponsored Walkathon in fancy dress as your favourite Black hero or heroine or figure from history, get active and support this worthy charity, Register for this FREE event here. 

From 2.00pm to 5.30pm the London Centre for Social Impact presents African Diaspora in Development of Africa at the Young Foundation, 18 Victoria Park Square, E2 9PF. This seminar is aimed at African diaspora organisations and Africans in the UK and  seeks educate attendees about the different techniques and approaches to setting up development projects, contributing to African development efforts, and needs, understanding different funding opportunities and to effectively present African development needs at community and grant making level to Tickets are £35.00 from here. 

At 6.00pm is Come into the Garden: An evening of Poetry and Spoken Word at 182 Court Lane, Dulwich, SE21 7EA. Hosted by Lettie McKie this is an outdoor poetry evening with a twist, with ambient jazz piano and pink champagne, the line up includes Bridget Minamore, Deanna Rodger, Emma Jones and Charlie Dupre. FREE entry

At 7.00pm is Feferity presents Abladei, Upstairs at The Ritzy, Brixton Oval, Coldharbour Lane, SW2 1JG this Ghanaian traditional dance band performs thrilling choreography t high life and other Ghanaian music. Hosted by DJ Freestyle admission is £6.00 (£5.00 Ritzy members)

At 7.30pm Ade Solanke will be reading from her new play East End Boys and West End Girls at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6LA. East meets west as four London teenagers compete for a prestigious scholarship criss crossing London from the Kings Road to Kingsland High Road, each travelling through unfamiliar territory with unexpected results. The reading will be followed by a post show discussion hosted by DJ Excalibah.  Tickets are £5.00 from here

Sunday 12^th May

At 2.00pm the London African Caribbean Book Club will be reading Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro Wiwa at Piccadilly, Central London (Location is confirmed when you RSVP). One of the first travel books about Nigeria this is a humorous and eye opening account of the Nigeria many people never get to see, from the hustle of Lagos, the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show and the calmness of the eastern mountains. The author Noo Saro Wiwa will be in attendance so come with questions. RSVP here for this event.

From 2.00pm to 9.00pm is The East African Buffett at Kukus Nest, 69-71 Goodmayes Road, Ilford, IG3 9UB, this is all you can eat Buffet features dishes from across Eastern Africa. Adults are £12.50 a head, under 10 years £6.25, more information here.

From 5.00pm to 9.00pm, is the First Anniversary of the Diaspora Debating Association at Black Grape Platinum Suite, 268 West Green Road, Tottenham, N15 3QR. The debate topic is ‘African and Caribbean people live better and more successful lives once they leave the UK for Africa/ the Caribbean?’ there will be 2 teams with skilled orators, a panel of judges and an unforgiving audience. Admission is £4.00