Festival

The 212th Birthday of Religious Liberty for African Americans and Wilmington’s Oldest Celebration will be celebrated in its traditional manner beginning Sunday, August 23rd, with our opening service at The Mother AU Church, 9th & Franklin Street, Wilmington, DE. Immediately following the church service will be the Memorial Wreath Laying in Spencer Plaza on Peter Spencer Way (formerly French Street).

August Quarterly commemorates and celebrates significant perspectives of our nation in general and the African American experience. It educates participants on a variety of American freedom movements, including, but not limited to, the Underground Railroad, the Abolitionist Movement, and other revered freedom movements. The August Quarterly Festival (Big Quarterly) was started in 1814 and is the oldest annual celebration that commemorates African Americans gathering in a sense of solidarity and freedom. August Quarterly events take place the last week and weekend of August. The festival portion of the 212th August Quarterly Celebration will gather over 3000 people on Saturday, August 29th, Youth Day and Sunday, August 30th, “The Big Quarterly.”