Bob Marley's legacy to be celebrated with festival
By Lisa Wakeland, Staff Writer
February 14, 2007 | 6:36 p.m.
Baker Center Ballroom will undergo a Caribbean makeover this Friday, Feb. 17, for the second-annual Bob Marley Day Festival. The festival, which includes live music, venders, and food, is one event around campus that celebrates Black History Month.
Winsome Chunnu, graduate assistant for Multicultural Programs at Ohio University, developed the idea for Bob Marley Day. “It’s Black History Month, not African-American history month. Let’s look at black people outside of the United States.” Chunnu said about her choice to honor Bob Marley.
But that’s not the only reason Bob Marley was selected for the February festival. “Bob Marley’s birthday is in February, he’s international and college students love him,” Chunnu said.
Last year’s festival attracted nearly 500 students, a response Chunnu described as overwhelming. She said she wants attendees to enjoy the activities at Bob Marley Day. “When I conceptualized the idea, I wanted Baker, when people walked in, to look like there were all these activities,” she said.
Two screens will play Bob Marley stories and videos while the band Nuhu plays Bob Marley songs and venders sell Caribbean and African-inspired items. “We have a live Jamaican reggae band, and in between, we are going to have people doing poetry and dance,” Chunnu said.
Local and international venders will be at Friday’s festival. Patricia Palmer, who works for Mulitcultural Programs at OU, will sell her jewelry. Peace Medie from Ghana will sell shirts and Bede Sow from Mali in West Africa will have African jewelry. Mt. Nebo Herbs and Oils, located at 11 W. Union Street, sold incense and other assorted items last year and will return for this year’s festival. Last year, venders were almost completely sold out, Chunnu said.
Although the festival celebrates Bob Marley’s life, it also helps raise money for charitable causes. The first festival raised money for the tsunami and victims in the Caribbean island of Guyana, which had a flood three months prior to the festival.
“We raised about $500 in U.S. money, which is about $89,000 in their money,” Chunnu said. “The money was sent to the University of Guyana and they were able to buy books and rebuild their library.”
This year, donations will be accepted for The St. Patrick’s Foundation. St. Patrick’s, located in Jamaica, is where Chunnu attended primary school. She said the foundation was started by Father Richard Holong, a priest at the school since the early ‘90s. He stayed with the school after his tenure and became involved in social and political movements in Jamaica.
“It provides programs for underprivileged youth in one of the ghettos in Jamaica,” Chunnu said about St. Patrick’s Foundation.
Bob Marley, born Feb. 6, 1945, grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and popularized the reggae sound with his band the Wailers. He was influential in spreading reggae music and Rastafarian religion around the globe. Marley died on May 11, 1981. His affect on music outlasted his life, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
“His prophetic wails still ring true;” a Rolling Stone biography of Marley said, “his expansive music remains powerful and virtuosic.”
The Bob Marley Day Festival will take place from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. in Baker Center Ballroom. It is free and open to the public.
---
Visit the Official Bob Marley Web site at: http://www.bobmarley.com