Consumnes River College hosted the First Annual Banana Festival on August 13, 14 and 15. This was a festival celebrating everything having to do with bananas. It was geared towards families and had lots of banana related food and entertainment concentrating on community and healthy eating. A food court was set up to sell delicious international food many specializing in banana recipes.

The event was set up to entertain all ages. A kid zone was stationed on one end of the Consumnes River College football field and at the another end an entertainment stage was situated. Many entertainers performed during the 3 day event. In the middle of the field there were many local non-profit and community groups distributing valuable information to the community.

Many groups took the stage to entertain. There was Caribbean, African, Brazilian, Aztec, Salsa, Indian and other international dance and music groups entertaining the audience. Comedy jam and poetry slams were also part of the activities on the program.

The festival was a fundraiser for the Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum. At the entrance there was an art exhibition from local artist and children. The festival promoted the multicultural blend of our region and also promoted healthy food and healthy living. Some cultures that use bananas in their traditions, food, and culture were highlighted. Some of these cultures include the Caribbean, Central, and Eastern Africa, the Pacific Islands, Central and South America and other international states.

I attended the festival with some members of my family. We were able to enjoy banana ice cream, banana smoothies, but no banana chips. You could also purchase banana splits, and my favorite was the banana lumpias, I had to go back for several of those.

We attended the event as it was winding down on Sunday afternoon. We were able to enjoy Banana Line Dancing (danced by actual people not bananas) with the Soul Line Dancers. Foe Deep went on stage to perform a great medley of “Old School” tunes. They had the synchronized moves to go with their songs. My favorite performance was by Jodama who entertained with African dances. Their spokesperson, at the microphone, introduced each performance before it started. Besides the dancers being in front of the stage a powerful native drum section kept everyone moving.

The library at Consumnes River College was also showing a Carmen Miranda (the original chiquita banana girl) video. The video made it a fit ending for this festival. This was a very enjoyable event which should grow in the years to come.

Photos:

1 - Carmen Miranda?

2 - Banana Line Dancing

3 - Foe Deep

4 - Kids at Play

5 to 13 - Jodama

14 - Last Performance of the Evening