Odu’a Members and Friends
Africans fashion trends are going global as intricate fabrics in vibrant colors and Gele headwraps take center stage at the Headwrap Expo. Zarinah El-Amin Naeem, founder of Beautifully Wrapped, is facilitating the 5th annual Headwrap Expo of 2017. This year’s Gele Headwrap workshop will be presented by the Odu’a Organization of Michigan, a sponsor of the Headwrap Expo 2017.
Odu’a Organization participated in last year’s Headwrap Expo 2016 as a vendor. The response by families was very positive, and attendees at the Odu’a booth wanted to learn more about the Organization’s goals and objectives, especially more about the Yoruba language and culture.
Due to the positive feedback, we were able to launch a Yoruba Class in collaboration with Wayne County Community College District, Detroit Northwest campus. All this was due to a survey we took at the Headwrap Expo. The overwhelming response to the survey was the desire by participants to learn about the language and Yoruba fashion, to know how the Gele originated and was made popular by the Yoruba from southwest Nigeria, and to learn how to tie a Gele. Due to those responses, Odu’a also decided to be a sponsor this year and to present the Gele workshop.
Workshop Presenters, Top left Carla Baskin-Aleobua, Damilola Frazier, Bottom left, Kemi Olayinka and Princess Anne Besimen-Akinfenwa
The Expo will be held at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center at 15801 W. Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan, on October 29 from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Princess Anne Besimen-Akinfenwa, Carla Baskin-Aleobua and Kemi Olayinka will headline the Odu’a workshop presentation.
The focus of the workshop is to provide historical background of the way that the Gele has transitioned through time. The history and significance of the gele will be traced from its African roots through the slave period in American history to its current significance in African American and African culture.
Shola Salako Asiwaju/President of Odu’a Organization of Michigan
The Odu’a Organization will hold demonstrations on how to wrap a Gele and will host a cultural and educational workshop on Yoruba culture. Please visit the Odu’a Organization of Michigan booth and attend the cultural workshop. Odu’a also will be raffling free Geles, men’s filas, and Yoruba fashion accessories.
This is the fashion event of the season. Don’t miss it!
For tickets contact niyi@aol.com
IleOduduwa.com the Source is ennobling this great culture and language of the Yoruba people is a worthy endeavor to undertake and continue to share with the world it’s rich history, heritage, traditions, culture, and language that is spoken by sixty million people around the world.