Afrika Festival Hertme


is an annual two day festival of African music in the Dutch village of Hertme.
It started spontaneously in 1989, with a performance by a dance group from Burkina Faso. Thousands of people come and there are many stalls selling exotic food and merchandise. The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013, thanks in part to the efforts of retired general practitioner and organizer Rob Lokin. He was awarded the Silver Carnation in 2010 for this work. It is supported by about 400 volunteers and is a major enterprise for a village of 500 residents. As well as the manin stage there is an African market with over a hundred stands, caterers with mostly African snacks and a side program of dance and music. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Africa Festival was voted one of the 25 best festivals in Europe by Songlines. In 2019 there were 4000 attendees. In 2020 it waas cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.
Artists who have performed at the Festival include: