First Oakland Black-Eyed Pea Festival

The First Oakland Black-Eyed Pea Festival is a celebration of African and African-American culture using a cherished foodway as its theme. The black-eyed pea has been eaten for good luck on New Year's Day in African American homes for generations and is a healthy and inexpensive staple in the diets of African Americans generally.

The Black-Eyed Pea Festival will feature traditional musicians, artists and storytellers, craft vendors, health and community resource information, and corporate sponsors. Classes will be offered in meditation, yoga and dance. Children will have an opportunity to make crafts (black-eyed pea rattles and T-shirt printing). The Festival will feature Black-eyed pea-themed dishes and food trucks featuring foods from Africa, African-America, and the African Diaspora. The Festival will also partner with Freedom Farmer's Market (Oakland) to have a farmer's market as part of the Festival. A canned food drive and a children's book giveaway is also slated for the Festival.

Wanda Ravernell, founder of the Omnira Institute and the Oakland Black-Eyed Pea Festival says, "The black-eyed pea is a common food eaten in West Africa, especially in the form of akara which are black-eyed pea fritters. Akara is also a food offering to the deities. The black-eyed pea is a sacred as well as a traditional food. The black-eyed pea is also important because the crop nourishes the soil (because of its high nitrogen content) and nourishes those who consume it (with its high nutritional value). Thus the black-eyed pea nourishes the land and it nourishes the people. The black-eyed pea for us exemplifies our vision for our community. We nourish community as we nourish ourselves. We are ingesting tradition, history, and culture through the preparing and eating of the black-eyed pea."