Third annual Soul Food Community Festival to be held at ASU Armory

Jan. 31, 2008 -- Community potlucks, where everyone prepares and brings a favorite dish, are a longstanding part of the Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter of the Arkansas State University Alumni Association’s operating history and tradition here at ASU. Traditionally, these potlucks are held to welcome special visitors and new faculty and to sustain links with the larger Jonesboro community.

This year, as an on-going collaboration between the Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter of the ASU Alumni Association, the ASU Delta Studies Center and ASU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, the third annual Soul Food Community Festival will be held on Thursday, Feb. 7, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at the ASU Armory. A short program will open the event. As in previous years, the annual Soul Food Community Festival is open to all ASU students, faculty, and Jonesboro community members.

Recognizing that African American foodways constitute a significant dimension of African American culture and tradition, this year’s theme, “Soul Food:  African American Heritage and Health” and program will also educate and inform regarding African American history, heritage, and culture, while sharing good food and company.

Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, assistant professor of history at ASU, will be the program’s featured speaker. Also on the program will be Rev. Brandon D. Walker, pastor, St. John Baptist Church; Latoya Carthon; Jajuan Johnson, Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter oral history project director; and Jackie Dedman, Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter president.

For more information, contact Peggy R. Wright at (870) 972-2325

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