The first Apopka Family, Faith, Food Festival defied rain, wind and chill at the Apopka Amphitheater on Saturday, January 7, when guests watched local music acts including two headliners, enjoyed offerings from vendors and watched an onstage panel discussion covering violence resolution in the Apopka community.
According to data from Weather Underground, the rainy, cloudy Saturday in Orlando encompassed the mean temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit, the high of 72, and the low of 43. That same day, the city’s wind speed was 9 mph, with the maximum being 18 mph and maximum gust speed being 26 mph.
Headlining performers were “The Voice” TV show contestant Sisaundra Lewis, and Grammy nominee and Dove Award winner Benjah.
Other musical talents were Jimmy Siberio, RJ4L, and Teki Dericho. The festival ended with a performance by the Apopka Mass Choir.
The South Apopka Ministerial Alliance and the Apopka Christian Ministerial Alliance organized the festival.
For its inaugural year and in spite of the weather, the Apopka Family, Faith, Food Festival did well, according to Pastor Darrell Morgan of Word of Life Church, who is also the president of the Apopka Christian Ministerial Alliance.
“It’s starting to help us plan for next year, making it bigger and better,” he said. “Hopefully we won’t have the weather issue (by then). But so far, it’s awesome, it’s been good.”
Before Benjah performed, he said that he would sing mostly songs from his last two albums, “Motives” and “Woke,” the latter that was released in December 2016. Although he loves performing ballads and slow songs on his albums, he said he prefers to sing more energy-laden songs on stage.
“The way you reach out to people, you have to get by them; it’s all done through marketing,” said Benjah, an East Orlando resident, about the festival’s outreach to the public. “If they’re here, you can reach out, but I think the biggest issue is just the weather. It’s rainy and now it’s freezing, but there are a good amount of people are here; the vibe here’s good and we’re going to have a great day.”
An expanded story, along with pictures of the festival, will appear in the Friday, January 13, issue of The Apopka Chief.
