event

African Culture Fest at Philadelphia Zoo

Sat, Aug 8 · 11:00am–3:00pm

Fairmount·outdoor

ODUNDE365 brings West African drumming, dance, and mask making to the zoo's Impala Plaza.

At a glance

Ages
All ages
Location
Fairmount
Setting
outdoor
Time
~4 hours
Effort
Some planning
Signup
Registration required

Book the zoo ticket before you go · admission is dated and reserved online, prices change by day, and summer last entry is 4 PM

What to know

  • Impala Plaza is inside the zoo, so plan a full zoo day around it.
  • The zoo opens at 9:30, last entry in summer is 4 PM, and it closes at 5.

Our experience

The zoo and ODUNDE365 take over Impala Plaza for four hours of West African culture, billed as the finale of ODUNDE365's year. There is an interactive drumming class, a children's African dance performance, bracelet and mask making, a painting class and henna, plus a free book giveaway from the West Philly Reading Captains. It runs inside a regular zoo day, so you can move between the festival and the animals without picking one. The programming costs nothing extra, but zoo admission does, and it has to be reserved online for a specific date.

More details

ODUNDE365 brings West African drumming, dance, and mask making to the zoo for the day

Philadelphia Zoo and ODUNDE365 close out the ODUNDE year with African Culture Fest at Impala Plaza, four hours of West African culture set among the animals. A live DJ runs the plaza while kids make African bracelets and masks, sit in on a painting class, get henna, and join an interactive African drumming class. There is a children's African dance performance, and the West Philly Reading Captains give away free books. All of it sits inside a normal zoo day, so families can drift between the festival and the animals. The programming is included with zoo admission, but the zoo requires a dated advance online reservation for general admission, so this is not a walk-up.

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