Goombay Celebrates 41st Festival

Goombay 2022 promises to be the biggest African-Caribbean festival Asheville has ever seen!

Turn up in Pack Square Park September 2-4, 2022 for Goombay, Asheville’s premier cultural festival!

Chubb Rock will be performing Saturday, September 3. Also scheduled to perform during the 3-day festival are Public Announcement, Surface, and Shaka Zulu. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled weekend! There will be a kid’s zone, food court, vendor village, and beer alley.

Goombay is a cultural expression of Black and Caribbean people. The original dancers used a skin-covered drum that was called “Gombey,” meaning rhythm. In the Bahamas, the word is “Goombay,” and in Jamaica the dance is known as “Gumbay.” Goombay dancers wear colorful costumes and high headdresses topped with feathers.

Enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of African-Caribbean culture. Goombay will bring a variety of entertainment including dancing, West African drumming, and live gospel, reggae, funk, and soul music.

Visit ymiculturalcenter.org for more details.