LiberArte invites artists, performers, cultural practitioners, and sponsors to join the third annual Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival on August 15, 2026, at the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater. The free, all-ages celebration centers Garifuna culture and brings music, movement, art, and ocean stewardship together.
Artists interested in participating can connect with us through the festival website. Organizations and businesses interested in sponsorship can explore ways to support this community celebration.
Explore the festival and artist opportunities ↗Sponsor the festival ↗Now in its third year, the festival brings together Afrodiasporic culture, live music, movement, food, vendors, and the ocean, creating a space where community, art, and the ocean meet. This year's edition centers on Garifuna culture, an Afro-Indigenous tradition rooted in communities across Central America and the Caribbean.
Headlining the festival is Bodoma's Garifuna Cultura Band, a group from Honduras whose music draws on the percussive, call-and-response traditions of Garifuna ancestral practice. GarifunaRobics – the fitness and cultural movement founded by Bronx-born Garifuna-American instructor Arnol Guity Martinez – will lead an interactive workshop blending aerobics with traditional Garifuna dance and music. DJ Wavy Fox, a Garifuna artist, will also perform.
The festival's host and poet is Kim Macharia, a multidisciplinary artist, professional sailor, and ocean steward whose work sits at the intersection of environmental advocacy, community engagement, and the performing arts. The afrolatin@ forum will facilitate a panel discussion on AfroLatinas as leaders in the environmental justice movement. And as in past years, Quilombo do Acupe, an Afro-Brazilian capoeira group rooted in the legacy of Capoeira Angola from Salvador, Bahia, will perform a roda capoeira.
The festival also features Laru Beya Collective as a partner organization. “Laru Beya” – meaning "on the beach" in Garifuna – is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to expanding surfing access for the historically excluded youth of the Far Rockaways.
“This showcase not only exhibits the importance of sharing our diverse cultures it also encourages and spreads our shared love for protecting, preserving and educating the community about our lovely ocean,” says Tanya Alfonso, Festival Producer.
