Sacramento Banana Festival returns, again a cultural delight with appeal beyond its name

In 2009, a pair of Sacramento organizations were looking to rebrand. A community event they organized to showcase local vendors, groups and entertainers had struggled to gain any traction.

Welcome to birth of The Banana Festival.

“It was hard to market something named the ‘Sojourner Festival’ because not a lot of people knew what that meant,” said Richard Pannell, a local chef for more than 30 years and co-coordinator of the festival’s latest iteration.

“We looked around and saw that festivals like strawberry or garlic were really popular, and figured why not bananas?” Pannell said. “So many people enjoy them and it didn’t (already) have a weekend of its own.”

The festival enjoyed a resurrection this weekend, returning under the auspices of the National Academic Youth Corps and Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum to William Land Park after two years away because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s festival was island-themed.

“We liked that it transformed our event into something that was open to all cultures,” Pannell said. “Sometimes, when you label things as Black or say, LGBTQ, people from outside of those groups don’t come.”

Unlike the Gilroy Garlic Festival or the new upstart California Garlic Festival in Stockton, celebrations of their namesake plant through and through, the Sacramento event’s use of the banana is more symbolic.

‘Beautiful imperfection’

Bananas, which were first cultivated in the islands of New Guinea and Australia before spreading to Asia and the rest of the world, were chosen by organizers as a multicultural catch-all. All across the park were vendors of Asian, African and Pacific Islander heritage.

Roy Holmes, of Stockton, can appreciate the symbolism. He is the founder of the Rotten Banana Clothing brand and one of the festival’s main sponsors.

Holmes founded his line in 2020 and it went viral after celebrities such as Anthony Anderson and Fergie wore shirts that he designed. Why bananas? It wasn’t because of some grand love for the fruit.

“It has a double meaning,” Holmes explained. “RBC also stands for relentless, bold and courageous. The image of ripe bananas is beautiful imperfection and crosses all cultures, sort of what we have here today (at the festival).”

His stand was directly in front of the festival entrance. Curious customers of all ages and backgrounds approached, wondering aloud what the brand’s story was — and after hearing his thoughtful answer, many walked away with new clothes.

Black Mothers United program spotlighted

Outside of food, retail and entertainment, the festival also served as a platform for local nonprofits such as Her Health First to promote their work. Through their “Black Mothers United” initiative, the organization works to lower the infant mortality rate that disproportionately affects Black women.

They offer services such as doula care, lactation support and health planning for free.

“Our staff are all mothers themselves,” said Ashley Bailey, a pregnancy coach at Her Health First. “We know first-hand what it’s like to be mistreated at a hospital because of our skin color.”

She said that The Banana Festival helped increase awareness that there are resources available to those that need them.

“There were so many women that had never heard of us or said that they wished they knew who we were back when they were pregnant,” Bailey said.

She also admitted she expected the festival to be all about bananas when the opportunity first came to her attention. But she appreciated that it was about much more.

“The island culture that (the festival) promotes is really welcoming,” Bailey said. “I hope this continues.”

Banana dessert, anyone?

Of course, sometimes it’s good to deliver on the name of the event, too. Looking for the best banana-related eats? Kendra Weathersby believes that she has developed just that in her new business Banana Pudding Krazy.

She founded her business a year ago after friends started paying her to re-create the dessert she once brought to a potluck. Weathersby graduated to renting a professional kitchen to cater events and produce pudding in bulk.

The Banana Festival was her biggest stage.

“I was nervous at first because my business is literally in the festival name,” Weathersby said. “But it has been amazing. Even though it’s hot out, there’s been a constant flow of people and I’m getting a chance to network with so many other great vendors.”

“This was the push I needed.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2022 at 2:57 PM.