![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/unnamed-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe annual festival aims to mediate long-running disputes about cuisine and tradition.<\/p>\n
Jul 13, 2026<\/p>\n
Updated 11:59 am PT<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vendors at the Jollof Festival offer a variety of foods, but the main focus is Jollof rice itself. \u00a0(Courtesy Jollof Festival)<\/p>\n
Ishmael Osekre wanted to settle the debates once and for all. Amid the everlasting argument over which West African country makes the best Jollof rice, in 2017, Osekre launched a competition that involved actually tasting the food instead of \u201ctrying to insult each other\u2019s mama,\u201d he says today, with a laugh.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, July 18, the Jollof Festival<\/a> returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.<\/p>\n After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and a BBC article<\/a> that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the \u201cJollof wars,\u201d Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of \u201cproperly preventing the next world war.\u201d<\/p>\n In its most common form, Jollof rice is made with a combination of rice, meat, tomatoes and spices. Though said to originate in Senegal<\/a>, nearly every country in West Africa has its own variety. And here in the Bay Area, the African diaspora is steadfast about repping their homeland through food.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bay Area shows its unapologetic appreciation, interest and curiosity of African culture, African food,\u201d Osekre says. In one of the most diverse places on earth, it isn\u2019t lost on Osekre that the Black community is deeply connected with their southern roots and African heritage.<\/p>\n Quiana Webster<\/a>, co-producer of the festival, adds that \u201cOakland is the model.\u201d<\/p>\n Webster may be slightly biased \u2014 she\u2019s an Oakland kid herself \u2014 but she\u2019s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.<\/p>\n \u201cIn every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,\u201d she says. \u201cThey want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n Working the Jollof Festival helped Webster expand her resources and branch off into catering as the owner of local catering business Symply Soul<\/a>. It\u2019s also pushed Osekre to grow as a student of the culinary arts. During the pandemic, he says, he spent his downtime learning to cook so he could better articulate the details of the dishes.<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with \u201cone little twist,\u201d says Osekre. \u201cWe are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.\u201d (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)<\/p>\n Even still, despite Osekre\u2019s mediation efforts, the debate is sure to continue. It\u2019s a part of the culture.<\/p>\n The 2026 Jollof Festival<\/a> takes place Saturday, July 18, at 811 Oakland (811 Washington Street, Oakland). Admission is available in multiple tiers, including a non-voting general entry ticket and a five-country \u201csample pack\u201d voting ticket. Tickets and more information here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Customers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg\")
Customers with Jollof Kitchen\u2019s Nigerian-style jollof rice. Owner Kemi Tijaniqudus won the Oakland edition of Jollof Festival in 2021 and 2023.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/unnamed-4.jpg\")
Jollof rice, from West Africa, is a precursor and cousin to jambalaya, from Louisiana. <\/p>\n