The Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival is a multidisciplinary, day-long, free cultural event that uplifts the sacred relationship between people of the African diaspora, Indigenous communities, and the ocean. Through live performance, ritual, movement, and storytelling, the festival centers cultural preservation, ocean reverence, and community gatherings. 

Join us at the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater on August 15, 2026, at 10:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time) for a day celebrating afro-diasporic culture, food, and vendors. Expect good vibes, amazing live music, capoeira, and a chance to connect with the community by the sea. This year, we celebrate Garifuna culture through our headliner, Bodoma Garifuna; a workshop by GarifunaRobics; and a DJ set by Garifuna artist DJ Wavy Fox. There will be a panel discussion and a roda capoeira. Don’t miss out on this unique experience that brings the environment, community, art, and the ocean together.

Featuring...

Our Headliner

Bodoma's Garifuna Cultura Band is a group from Honduras that celebrate traditional Garifuna Culture. Combining powerful vocal with a dense percussive base. The Garifuna Music is unlike any other in Central America. Singing and drumming for the Garifuna entails a fiercely percussive communal call and respond rooted in the sacred context of ancestral invocation and spirit possessions.

GarifunaRobics Workshop

Arnol Guity Martinez is a Garifuna-American fitness instructor, dancer, and cultural entrepreneur best known as the founder of GarifunaRobics, a workout program that blends aerobics with traditional Garifuna dance and music.

Born in the Bronx, New York, to Honduran Garifuna parents, Martinez developed a passion for dance at a young age and trained with groups such as the Chief Joseph Chatoyer Garifuna Dance Company.

In 2018, he launched GarifunaRobics as a way to promote both physical fitness and cultural awareness, creating a unique “cultural style workout” rooted in Garifuna heritage.  His work emphasizes identity, community wellness, and preserving Garifuna traditions through movement and education.

Since its founding, GarifunaRobics has grown into a nationwide fitness movement, with classes and events held across major U.S. cities and beyond. Martinez has also received recognition for his contributions to cultural preservation, youth leadership, and community health.

Our Host and Poet

Kim Macharia is a multidisciplinary artist and ocean steward who has spent a large part of her career leading education and outreach efforts in the space sector. Much of her work focuses on environmental advocacy and community engagement. As a professional sailor for the past five years, Kim draws deep inspiration from the ocean for many of her initiatives. Her love of the water deeply influences her creative practice as a singer and theater-maker. She recently produced A Siren's Prayer, an original musical inspired in part by her time at sea. Through her organization Brave Leap, she created a directory of free and low-cost resources to help people connect with nature across New York City. Kim is passionate about helping people step into their full potential, and she believes that building a relationship with the natural world is one of the most powerful ways to get there.

Panel Discussion Hosted by afrolatin@ forum

The afrolatin@ forum will be joining us to share a dynamic panel discussion. Panel topic TBD.

It is widely recognized that AfroLatinas are profound wisdom keepers regarding environmental and ocean matters. Join us to explore the diverse ways and forms Afro-Latinas continue to be indispensable leaders and guides in the ever-evolving environmental justice movement.

The afrolatin@ forum enters Blackness within Latinidad and focuses on Latin@s of African descent in the United States to provide a bridge that expands our understanding of the African Diaspora.

They support the struggle for racial and social justice through dialogue and action by engaging communities, forging coalitions, creating accessible educational materials, and organizing public events.

Roda Capoeira by Quilombo do Acupe

Every year, we feature: Quilombo do Acupe Capoeira Group, an Afro-Brazilian capoeira group.

Quilombo do Acupe represents Capoeira Angola rooted in its African origins through Salvador, Bahia. Since 1989 the group has been instrumental in the preservation of the art form and its dissemination around the world. The group continues the legacy and teachings of Mestre Marron, disciple of Mestre João Pequeno.

The group recognizes Capoeira Angola as a liberartory art form and source of power against opress in its various forms. Quilombos began and represent a profound history of resistance and autonomy in Brazil, where communities of escaped enslaved peoples found sanctuary and self-governance, free from colonial rule.

This historical reference highlights the importance of Capoeira as a tool for empowerment, resilience, and community building, embodying art's transformative power in fostering hope, discipline, and purpose.

More to be announced! Get your free ticket here.