The Kumbaya Festival was an annual Canadian music and arts festival in the 1990s.[1] It was organized by Molly Johnson as a benefit for Canadian charities and groups doing work around HIV and AIDS.[1]

Kumbaya Festival
Genrediverse genres
Location(s)Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Years active1993-1996
FoundersMolly Johnson
WebsiteKumbaya Foundation

The festival was broadcast live on MuchMusic each year, with the broadcast including a toll-free number which home viewers could call to make additional donations.[2] Compilation CDs of performances from the festival were also subsequently released to raise additional funds.[2][3] The festival raised over $1 million during its years of activity.[1]

Each annual festival consisted primarily of musical performers, although each also featured numerous writers reading literary pieces, as well as actors, media personalities, HIV/AIDS activists and other Canadian public figures speaking on the importance of the HIV/AIDS issue.

Although the Kumbaya Foundation, the organization which staged the festival, is still active in Canadian and international HIV/AIDS fundraising as of 2014, the festival itself has not been staged since 1996. Johnson has, however, expressed an interest in reviving the festival.[1]

Performers and speakers

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The lists of participants can be found at the Kumbaya Foundation website.[4]

1993

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1994

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1995

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1996

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Switching jazz singer Molly Johnson on and off". The Globe and Mail, November 22, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Kumbaya - get bigger, raise more". Canadian Fundraiser, November 27, 1995.
  3. ^ a b c "Kumbaya disc needs more odd couplings". Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. By Peter Howell and Geoff Chapman Sep 2, 1995 Page: L.8
  4. ^ "Kumbaya Foundation: Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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