MashUp! Weekend

African Street Festival: Build-A-Fort Community Installation

Fri, Sep 18

Hadley Lillard Park

At the 2026 African Street Festival at Hadley Park, you will be a part of an innovative community creative wellness installation that centers joy, imagination, reflection, and collective connection through play and creative exploration. Designed for all ages.

Details

The Age of Metamorphosis embodies the sacred introversion of becoming and invites us all to emerge as who we truly are.

MashUp Weekend is a three-day cultural festival and community gathering that celebrates our Black queer community. Each year, we bring together art, nightlife, family, and purpose to curate a space where our culture is uplifted, our stories are centered, and our collective power is undeniable.

This year’s theme, The Age of Metamorphosis, is an understanding of the re-emergence of self. The transformation from the caterpillar's chrysalis' to the first flight of a butterfly's wings. We call in the transformative reality of the seasons and our ever evolving identities. The Age of Metamorphosis embodies the sacred introversion of becoming and invites us all to emerge as who we truly are. We invite you to hibernate on this theme and through the coming winter months connect with the stages of your metamorphosis. We look forward to collectively emerging in celebration of our individuality, holding each other in what we have become, and facing the world with the strong, beautiful wings we made while in our cocoons.

Help Us Reach Our MashUp! Weekend Goal!

MashUp Weekend is our boldest and most ambitious fundraiser of the year. We’re aiming to raise $100,000 — not just to produce an unforgettable weekend of art, connection, and celebration, but to directly fund MashUp’s year-round programs that offer trauma-informed mental health support, address racial and economic health disparities, and equip grassroots leaders with the tools and training they need to build thriving, resilient communities. This is how we sustain the heartbeat of our mission — keeping it alive, expansive, and deeply rooted in justice and care.