It is not an exaggeration to say that the OSFNA annual Oromo Sports and Cultural Festival is the biggest celebration of Oromummaa, outside of Oromia. Kicked off in Toronto, Canada, in 1996 with a handful of soccer teams from around North America, the OSFNA annual Oromo Sports and Cultural Festival today has become a national icon of Oromo sportsmanship and cultural identity. Since the Twin Cities in Minnesota (Minneapolis and St. Paul), also coined as “Little Oromia,” have the largest Oromo population outside of the Horn of Africa, “Little Oromia” has become the most favorite host for the OSFNA annual festival, though other cities in North America had also been given the chance to host the festival over the years.
This year, too, “Little Oromia” will host the OSFNA festival from August 1 to August 8. During this week-long festival, members of the Oromo community in Minnesota as well as visitors from around the globe celebrate Oromummaa (being of the Oromo nation) with passion. Customarily, the City Councils of the Twin Cities also acknowledge the positive contributions of the OSFNA festival to the local diversity and economy by declaring the week-long festival an “Oromo Week,” thus the hashtag #OromoWeek2015 represents the OSFNA week-long Oromo Sports and Cultural Festival in “Little Oromia.” The OSFNA festival is also a moment for other civic activities, such as OLF meetings and campaign stops by Minnesotan politicians (for instance, Sen. Al Franken made a campaign stop at the OSFNA 2014 festival to help drive votes for his senatorial election).
Over the years, the OSFNA festival has shown great improvements with depth and breadth, especially since the election of the new youth leadership in 2014. Armed with the youth leadership and tens of other young volunteers from around North America, OSFNA – more than anything – is a venue where the dispersed Oromo community around the globe comes to connect to home away from home. With the increasing Oromo Diaspora population, OSFNA’s rise with time is a testament of the commitment of the leadership as well as the volunteers.
This year’s OSFNA events include men’s soccer, women’s soccer and the Abebe Bikila Legacy Race, which is a 2-mile running competition in honor of the Greatest Oromo Olympian and Barefoot Marathoner Abebe Bikila.
