Penn's Landing festivals: A little Asia, a little Africa

Those eager for the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Southeast Asia or Africa need only visit Penn's Landing this weekend to find satisfaction.

Two popular ethnic festivals are returning to the Delaware River waterfront, promising fun without flight delays or foreign currency exchanges.

On Saturday, the fourth annual Southeast Asian Dragon Boat Festival will put a focus on Penn's Landing Marina, near the popular pop-up Spruce Street Harbor Park. Besides races in the vessels that give the event its name, visitors can enjoy dance performances traditional and modern at the Great Plaza stage. The goal of the festival organization is to mentor the next generation of community leaders while teaching others about the cultures of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Mongolia.

Then on Sunday, the Acana African Festival will mark its 13th year celebrating food, music, and crafts from across the African diaspora. Activities will be centered at Great Plaza at Penn's Landing and will include a performance by American-born/Nigerian-bred singer Davido and a tribute to South Africa's Nelson Mandela. The festival is run by the African Cultural Alliance of North America, known as Acana, a Southwest Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization founded in 1999. It is sponsored by Peco.

"The Peco Multicultural Series offers a variety of culturally rich events for our customers to explore the world without actually leaving Philadelphia," said Peco spokeswoman Romona Riscoe Benson.

Both festivals are expected to draw thousands of visitors just as they have in years past. Jodie Milkman, vice president of communications for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, said these ethnic festivals have become "must-do" events as they "celebrate and promote awareness of the diverse communities within Philadelphia that make this city so culturally rich."

"These festivals are an integral part of our summer program season, bringing tens of thousands of people to the waterfront to celebrate through dance, music, and art," she added.

One of Acana's missions is to bridge the gap between immigrant communities and more established ones. Besides bringing in overseas performers like Davido, it also aims to send locals overseas: One feature of this year's event is a chance to win two round-trip airfare tickets to western Africa courtesy of Arik Airlines.

The festival puts an emphasis on dance and music, offering everything from reggae to Afropop to drum ensembles.

Dragon boat racing is one of the world's fastest-growing water sports, according to the Hong Kong-based International Dragon Boat Federation. It has multiple origin stories. Part of the sport's appeal is the focus on synchronicity, not strength, meaning people of different sizes and abilities can compete against each other. Coordination is key. The teams paddle, as if in a canoe. They face forward and their paddles aren't connected to the boat. Each team has about 20 members.

The area's larger annual dragon boat-centered event, the Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival featuring races on the Schuylkill each fall, traces the sport back to China. More than 2,000 years ago, according to legend, a respected citizen jumped into a rushing river to end his life. Locals tried in vain to save him, using drums and paddles to beat and scare sea creatures.

This festival is more similar to Cambodia's annual Water Festival, co-organizer Var Phal said. Many years ago, the annual race was meant to show the power of the Khmer marine forces. The festival is meant to say thanks for the Mekong River for keeping the country's land fertile and for providing fish.

"People across the Philadelphia region will be here," said Phal, who came to the United States as a refugee in 1983 and who has two sons who help inexperienced paddlers learn the rhythm. "I want to see us all come and join, come to the water, and come together."