Africa at Spitalfields returns for 2018. Pic: Pop Up Africa
Africa at Spitalfields has returned for a sixth consecutive year, taking over Spitalfields Market to celebrate African culture on bank holiday Monday.
Live entertainment, food, and clothing stalls will bring vibrancy to Spitalfields, letting visitors experience a bit of Africa without leaving the capital.
Hosted by Pop Up Africa, the one-day event is London’s biggest African inspired retail experience.
Partners Colourful Radio will be hosting the entertainment square with their radio DJs broadcasting live from the event.
Entertainment square drew in large crowds at last year’s event at Spitalfields Market. Pic: Pop Up Africa
Jessica Laditan, founder of Pop Up Africa said: “There’s always such a great vibe at this event, not only is it a platform for the makers trading but it’s a nice day out for people from all walks of life. The food stalls and live entertainment tend to be the most popular features.”
Visitors can sample what the African food scene has to offer from the diverse range of food available.
This includes Ghanaian street food by Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, Ethiopian food by Ethiopiques, and Nigerian Tapas by Chuku’s.
Africa at Spitalfields will provide food from a diverse range of African countries Pic: Pop Up Africa
The event will include around 100 stalls and will see over 3,000 visitors throughout the course of the day.
Charity African Child Trust (ACT), stallholders at this year’s event, plan to host raffles, games, and stories around the children they support in celebration of their 20th anniversary. ACT work in eight African countries where they provide disadvantaged children working skills through training.
Lauren Haizel-Cobbina, Project Development Officer of ACT told EastLondonlines: “We hope that all these elements will help to get our vision across and get people on board with the work we do. This is our first year here, but this is something we would love to take part in annually.
Africa at Spitalfields 2017. Pic: Pop Up Africa
Pop Up Africa is a UK-based, Africa inspired company, formed to make African brands more available on the international market.
The African events company has seen stallholder’s take their brand from pop-up stalls to shelves of well-known stores including Tesco and Selfridges.
Many brands start at the pop-up event then work with larger stores. Pic: Pop Up Africa
Other Pop Up Africa Events include; ‘The African Food and Drink Takeover’, part of Africa Utopia at the London Southbank Centre, and networking events such as Stories from Sengal.
Africa at Spitalfields runs 10am to 5pm on Bank Holiday Monday at Spitalfields Market on May 28.
