OkayAfrica's Weekend Guide

There’s a deluge of cool events happening across Africa and the diaspora this weekend and OkayAfrica’s weekend guide is where you’ll find them.

LONDON—The eighth anniversary of the Open the Gates Festival is going down on Saturday, June 10. The event will feature performances by Simo Lagnawi and Gnawa Blues All-Stars. Entry is free. You can find more details via their Facebook invite.

LONDON—Avril's Walks and Talks will host the "Tottenham African Caribbean History Walk" this Sunday, June 11. The two hour tour will explore British history from a black perspective. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

LONDON—"Ancient Africans in Europe, Asia and America" will hold its last tour of the season this Sunday at The British Museum. "Witness institutional racism that writes Africans out of world history and see the evidence of Ancient Africans in Europe, Asia and America," reads the event's invite. Check here for more details.

NEW YORK— You can catch an "African Pop Up Shop" this Saturday at the Citadel of Hope, hosted by A Touch of a Queen. They'll unveil their summer collection and teach a head wrapping class for ladies looking to improve their skills. You can find out more about the event, here.

NEW YORK CITY—Ghanaian producer, DJ Juls, will host an "ankara day party" this Sunday at Novotel New York in Times Square.

The invite reads: "Join us as Super Producer / DJ from Ghana based out of the UK invades New York City. Enjoy an exclusive Ankara Day Party and a celebration of fashion, culture and his newly released Album "Leap of Faith". The Future is Africa."

You can purchase tickets here.

BROOKLYN—New York based nonprofit, Liberty City, will host a screening and panel discussion on Ava Duvernay's 13th documentary this Saturday, June 10. You can register for the event, here.

WASHINGTON D.C.— an African Business Mixer will be held on Saturday at Redrocks in Washington D.C. There will be live sets from DJ Schemes and DJNightcrawler. The event is free with RSVP. You can register here.

WASHINGTON D.C.— The mother of Dominique Battle, one of the three black girls who officers let drown in a Florida pond last year, will head to D.C. this weekend to speak. You can attend the event for free.

"Kunde, is a fierce warrior, determined that justice will be served not only for her daughter and her daughter’s two best friends; but for all African people terrorized and murdered every day by the police throughout the U.S.," says a statement from African National Women's Organization DMV.  For me details, see the full invite.

CAPE TOWN— The Naked World Festival, an annual spoken word show in Cape Town takes place this weekend. The festival, which began on Thursday, June 8, will wrap up this Sunday. Poets will perform works that address the country's current political climate. You can find out more about the event, here.

What to Watch: 

You can stream the award winning documentary, SEMBENE! on Vimeo for free between   June 9 and June 12. The global free stream is part of the project Sembene Across Africa.The documentary focuses on the life and career of legendary Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembéne, often referred to as the “father of African cinema”

What to Listen to:

For a playlist of the best songs that came across our desk this week, check out OkayAfrica’s Weekend Playlist. This week's list features tracks from Wizkid, Ibeyi, Ray BLK, Mr Eazi and more. You can stream the full playlist below.