West Africa Live - a festival of music, food and dance

Shoreline resident Tina Minor packing
 books for GambiaHELP education efforts

Shoreline resident Tina Minor has been a volunteer with GambiaHELP for many years, and has visited The Gambia with Shelby Tarutis, the director of GambiaHELP, the sponsor of West Africa Live!

WEST AFRICA LIVE! A Festival of Music, Food and Dance at Town Hall Seattle, Saturday, October 19, 2013. Doors open at 6:30pm. Tickets on sale now.

Gambia Health Education Liaison Project (GambiaHELP) presents WEST AFRICA LIVE! – a celebration of West African arts and culture. This is an opportunity for people of all ages to learn more about West Africa, enjoy exhilarating entertainment, and eat delicious food while supporting the development of a nursery school in The Gambia through ticket sales.

Performances will include music, dancing and drumming by Gansango Music and Dance Company, Senegalese percussionist Thione Diop, kora masters Kane Mathis and Sean Gaskell, and Mandinka drummers Modibo Traore and Bob Thompson of “Wulibaa”.  

West African dinner will be available at intermission, as well as wine, beer and ginger drinks, children’s activities, a marketplace of African handicrafts, and a silent auction to benefit GambiaHELP, a Seattle-based nonprofit that seeds health, education and small-business projects in The Gambia.

Gansango Music and Dance draws on the stunning talent of a multicultural group of international dancers and musicians presenting traditional and contemporary dance and music from West Africa. The company is directed by Etienne Cakpo, originally from Benin and now a teacher and choreographer based in Seattle.

Off-stage, children will be invited to respond to letters, pictures and questions from Gambian school children;  a West African marketplace will feature crafts handmade by Gambian women and girls; and a small silent auction will sell items to benefit GambiaHELP.

Bar opens at 6:30, performance will begin at 6:45pm.

Admission and meal tickets now available online or by calling 206-660-5826. Admission: Adults $15, Youths $10, Children under 10 free. Dinner: Vegetarian Domada $10; Chicken Domada $12; Lamb Benachin $12 [Domada is made with peanuts]