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Scott Witten

Editor

You may not be able to travel to Kenya or Ethiopia, but you can still take away a little bit of Africa this weekend.

Laurinburg is again putting on a Taste of Africa on Friday beginning at 6 p.m.

Taste of Africa, which is in its 10th year, is sponsored by the African American Heritage Committee Inc. The two-hour event will take place at the Storytelling Arts Center at 131 South Main St.

Tickets, which can be purchased at the door on Friday, are $8 for adults and $6 for children.

Bettie McNair, director of African American Heritage Committee Inc., said the food festival is used to inform people about the African culture and food. About 80 people attended the event last year.

“The general public has one perception about the type and preparation of food from Africa the same way that some people in other counties still think we in the US are still cowboys riding horses,” McNair said. “In reality, the food choices are similar to ours. It is how the food is prepared that makes the difference.”

Participants will have a chance to sample a variety of African-based dishes. The meal will include curried goat, Swahili rice, pigs feet, okra, pineapple pudding, red rice, peanut soup, cornbread and plantains.

McNair said that the dishes will be prepared by the African American Heritage Committee members.

“One of my favorites is the peanut soup,” McNair said. “We always end up with an empty pot and I like that.”

The African American Heritage Committee also organizes the annual Kuumba Festival, which celebrates African culture through music, storytelling, fashion, gospel and drumming. That festival will be held later this year.

For information about Friday’s event, call 276-4843 or 277-8721.

“We hope people will come out and take part,” McNair said. “It is a good way to experience other customs and culture. If nothing else, it can serve as an inexpensive vacation.”