Three days of West African drumming, dance classes and film are set to take over the Southwest Arts Center in South Fulton, Georgia, starting Friday, as Wontanara's Roots to the Future festival marks its seventh year running October 30 through November 1, 2026. The event bills itself as a multi-day Afro-diasporic celebration of West African music, dance and heritage, bringing the community together for cultural experiences, art and connection.
The festival kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. with a screening of the animated adventure film Kirikou and the Sorceress, according to wontanarafestival.org. From there, programming expands into drum and dance classes, panel discussions, business workshops and a vendor marketplace, all housed at Southwest Arts Center, located at 915 New Hope Road SW. The festival is presented by Wontanara Institution Inc. and is sponsored for the second year by the City of South Fulton Cultural Affairs.
Saturday's Concert Headlines the Weekend
The centerpiece of the weekend is Saturday night's concert, The Awakening, described as Wontanara's signature show. The lineup includes Morehouse Band, Asase Yaa, Giwayen Mata, Wontanara Entertainment and special youth guest performers, per the same festival listing. ArtsATL also confirms the festival's return for what it calls its seventh annual celebration of West African cultural dance and music, running the same October 30 through November 1 dates at the same South Fulton venue, as ArtsATL reports.
Sunday morning rounds out the schedule with a hands-on business workshop led by Wontanara founder Abena Camara, scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m., according to the festival's official event page. The weekend also includes family-friendly kids programming alongside the classes, panels and marketplace that run throughout the three days.
A Festival With Deeper Roots in South Fulton
This is not Wontanara's first appearance at Southwest Arts Center. The organization held a prior edition there on November 15 and 16, 2025, described on its own site as a vibrant celebration of culture, community and creativity, spanning powerful drum performances, wellness experiences and global artistry, per wontanarainc.org. As Secret Atlanta reports, the Wontanara Fest describes itself more broadly as a movement bringing people together through African and Afro-diasporic arts, culture, education and innovation, aiming to build pathways for education, economic empowerment and community wellbeing.
Wontanara has also previously presented a free, family-friendly Family and Community day at Oyun Botanicals Garden in East Point, featuring vendors, garden tours, food, yoga, meditation, a live DJ, games and a performance by Wontanara Percussions, according to the organization's events page. That earlier event points to a pattern of community-facing programming beyond the main festival weekend, though this year's Roots to the Future lineup is the one drawing residents to South Fulton starting Friday.
Whether newcomers or returning attendees, organizers frame the weekend as an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to connect through shared traditions and celebrate West African culture, a goal Secret Atlanta's reporting also highlights. With classes, panels, a marketplace, a film screening and a headline concert packed into three days, Roots to the Future positions itself as one of South Fulton's more ambitious cultural gatherings of the fall.
