Why should you attend Afrochella? Is this event or festival worth all the hype and your money/investment? I know you saw everyone’s Instagram posts and TikTok and Snapchat or Twitter of how lit Ghana was, but is it worth it though?
By now, you should all be aware of what Afrochella is. If you’re not living under a rock, that is because, in December 2021, everyone was in Ghana. I mean everyone. Ghana was lit so, I understand why everyone and their girlfriends were in Ghana.
So, what is Afrochella, and why is it on the lips of everyone? I will try to make this as simple as possible. The best way to describe Afrochella is Coachella. A big music festival with a lot of food, drinks, style, many musical talents, and culture. And the location is the best part, Ghana, West Africa. What sets Afrochella aside from Coachella is the culture. With Afrochella, the culture, wait, let me be very specific here, the African culture and fashion set Afrochella, on another level from Coachella.
Now that you know the difference between Afrochella and Coachella, let me break Afrochella down a bit more so you can understand the worth of education this event has. First, Ghana was very smart to host Afrochella. This festival brought in lots of tourists in return, lots of bucks in their bank and overall economic growth. With the whole return to Africa or the year of return, this was a good business move for the country, and an increase in the country’s capital. I am not even a finance person, but I know this was a good business move. Okay, enough about the money, let us go back to the culture.
This was my first time attending Afrochella, and may I say it was an out-of-body experience. One that you must be there to comprehend fully, but I will try my best to make you feel all those emotions after reading this post. For me, this was also my first trip to Ghana, and I traveled solo (yes, you heard that right, SOLO, lol, and I loved it). This event allowed me to emerge into the Ghanaian culture fully and created a newfound love of my home continent, Africa. You see, I have a love, hate relationship with Africa, to be honest, but we will table that for another day. So back to Afrochella and Ghana as a whole. I was there for the fashion and culture. Listen, if you ever wonder what it means to be an African royalty, please plan to attend the next Afrochella because, my friend, I never felt like I belonged in a space like I did when I attended Afrochella.
There was no colorism, no discrimination, no animosity, just LOVE. I really did love that. If you’re from the diaspora, you felt like you were home. You did not feel out of place or not welcome. It just felt right. This is where I belong; these are my people, my culture, and this is me. I really loved that, and this is how I felt at Afrochella.
Now, I am not going to speak much on the food; however, I will say this; I’m sorry, my Ghana people, but the Jollof is not it, lol. I’m not sure why y’all are part of the Jollof war, but we will table that topic for another day. If you want to argue, argue with yourself. If you watched my IG story while I was in Ghana, you saw that I had a hard time finding Ghanaian food that I liked. I’m Liberian; we throw down in the kitchen. I love to cook, it brings me joy, and for any food, the flavor/taste is very important to me; however, I had a hard time getting that from most meals I had in Ghana. Especially the traditional dish. Maybe its the restaurants I went to, but I guess we will never know.
Okay, let me refocus and provide details on the overall Afrochella experience. So, the headline star for 2021 was Wizkid, Aka Big Wiz: An African superstar that is famous for songs like Blessings, Mood, and Essence, to name a few. There were many other musicians like Stonebwoyb, Ari Lennox, and so much more. The overall musical performances were amazing; the MCs and DJs did their thing; however, the musical acts were too many. Way too many, to say the least. As you know, this was my first trip to Ghana, and I was unfamiliar with the party scene and nightlife. The people party in Ghana till 7 am. The club closes at 7 am. This was a shock for me because vacation or no vacation, your girl doesn’t stay out past midnight. This was one of my shocking moments because I did not get to see Wizkid. After 3 am, he was not performing. I heard he came at 3:30-4 am, but I was gone by then.
Many people had this same issue. The event started at 2 pm and ended about 6 am the next day. This is the club culture in Ghana. Most people go to the club at 2 or 3 am. If you’re not aware of this information, you will be very shocked or disappointed like I was.
So, is Afrochella worth the hype? For me, yes, it is. I looked at the festival from an educational perspective and investment in myself. I also see that the experience has built my travel knowledge and my cultural education. When I was in Ghana, I visited Cape Coast Castle. I learned how safe Ghana was and how peaceful and relaxed I was. Yes, I was there for Afrochella and to attend other events like (PinexGinja) that I was invited to and the fashion shows, but I also took it upon myself to explore Ghana. To fully emerge myself in the culture and create relationships. Afrochella gave me all that and more.
So, if you’re considering attending Afrochella next time, please go. It’s an investment of a lifetime. Read my next post on all you need to know before traveling for Afrochella.
If you prefer to watch this experience, head over to my YouTube channel for the video version of this post.
Xoxo, Mo!