A community centre in St Pauls which opened in 1974 will be putting on a special event to mark 50 years since it first opened. The Kuumba Centre on Hepburn Road was set up 50 years ago to offer a unique service to people of African and Caribbean descent in Bristol.
The special anniversary event which will be held from 5pm to 9pm on Saturday, October 26 will include a speech from Sis Nwanyi who is the current chair of Kuumba and attended the centre as a child. She will also be discussing the future of the unique community space which is currently under threat of closure.
She will be joined by other Rastafari women in the community who will discuss their journey ‘from the Inkworks to Kuumba’. Members of the community are invited to come along to the event and share memories of the community centre.
There will also be a large variety of gift stalls featuring cultural clothing, children’s wear, cards, health and well-being organic products, natural juices, and reggae records/CDs. There will also be play, arts and crafts activities for children, alongside refreshments.
At 9pm there will be an after party featuring the Roots Reggae Cultural Foundation Sound System. The free event will be a celebration of reggae and dub music and include a variety of local selectors.
The management at Kuumba have been in a battle with Bristol City Council for over a year in an ongoing dispute of the lease agreement of the building, and last year Kuumba was given legal notice to vacate the council-owned building but refused.
The next court date on the issue is scheduled for November 14 after the previous hearing was adjourned.
Despite the uncertainty over its future Kuumba is keen to continue to organise events for the community. On November 2, it is planning an event to mark the anniversary of the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie which took place in 1930.