By Josh Hughes
This Saturday, April 21, the African Caribbean Club will be hosting their annual Heritage Dinner at Western. Starting at 7 p.m., the event is open to the public and will feature a variety of different performances.
The ACC is a student run group that started in 1998, so this year marks their 20th anniversary. Though the dinner does not coincide with this marker, the evening will be filled with celebration, dance and a speech from one of the founders of the group.
Special Assistant to the President for Diversity Dr. Kunle Ojikutu, who helped the ACC get their feet off the ground during its inception, will be the main speaker of the evening. As a prominent figure in the group’s history, Ojikutu will talk about how the club has changed throughout the years and where he envisions it will head in the future.
After being at Western for over 20 years, Ojikutu will be retiring at the end of this school year. This event marks his last official talk for Western as faculty.
Besides the speech, the evening will be filled with an array of multicultural performances from various individuals and groups. Members of the ACC will dance, sing, and play music throughout the night. A variety of ethnic groups and cultures will be represented throughout the evening, showcasing the breadth and versatility of African and Caribbean culture.
WWU Capoeira Group and South Asian Student Association will both also give performances during the dinner.
“We like to work with other groups on campus to establish those intersectionalities, because Western is a predominately-white institution, and the only way for someone to really learn something is through someone telling them about it,” said ACC President Shaneen Walter-Edwards.
Beyond Western-based groups and organizations, Miss Africa Whatcom County will give a performance before their official event later in May.
Additionally, Luchrist Modern African Fashion, a clothing store located in Bellis Fair Mall, will host a fashion walk in which Western students serve as models.
Alongside Aramark, the ACC will be cooking the dinner themselves. The dinner portion of the evening will occur during the first half of the event, but the festivities will ring on into the night. The evening will finish off with a Caribbean dance, which will likely get everyone who attends on their feet.
The ACC meets every Wednesday in Miller Hall 139 at 6 p.m. All students are encouraged to check it out and see if it’s their cup of tea.
“The ACC is a chill group, anyone is welcome whenever,” said Walter-Edwards. “The regular members are like a little family— to make it through any type of university, you need to find your niche, and ACC might be that niche for some people.”
The Heritage Dinner will occur this Saturday in the Wilson Library Reading Room (fine, Harry Potter Room). Tickets are $12 for anyone with a student I.D., and $16 for anyone else. Tickets may be purchased online through the PAC Box Office website or in person at the box office.