Tampa Bay gets a new cultural celebration this weekend when Ghana Day in Tampa Bay makes its debut at Rowlett Park.

The free event takes place Saturday, November 7, beginning at 10 a.m. at Rowlett Park, 2401 E. Yukon Street in Tampa.

Presented by the Ghanaian Association of Tampa Bay, the festival is built around Ghanaian culture, heritage and the contributions of Ghana and the African diaspora.

This is the first Ghana Day in Tampa Bay, which gives the event a different feel from long-established annual festivals: organizers are introducing the wider Tampa Bay community to the sounds, food, history and visual traditions that shape Ghanaian identity.

Music is expected to be a major part of the day.

The organizer’s event site highlights highlife, hiplife, Afrobeat, palm-wine music, traditional drumming and live-band performances as part of the festival experience.

That mix gives visitors a chance to hear both older Ghanaian musical traditions and newer styles that blend local rhythms with hip-hop and contemporary popular music.

Food is another centerpiece.

The official festival site previews dishes including red red with fried plantain, yam with kontomire stew, waakye, ampesi, kenkey with fish and other Ghanaian favorites.

For people who have never tried Ghanaian food, this may be one of the easiest ways to sample several dishes in one place while also learning where they come from.

The marketplace is expected to feature clothing, beads, shea butter, carved pieces and other items connected to Ghanaian craft traditions.

The festival also puts history into the program rather than treating this as only a food-and-music event.

Organizers frame Ghana Day as a way to preserve heritage, connect the Ghanaian and African diaspora with the broader Tampa Bay community and give younger generations a stronger connection to cultural traditions.

Admission is free, and the City of Tampa listing says no preregistration is required.

There is one scheduling detail worth checking before you go.

The City of Tampa event listing currently lists the event from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., while the organizer’s registration page lists a later end time.

Because the published closing times differ, the safest move is to check the official Ghana Day page the morning of the event if you plan to arrive late in the afternoon.

Rowlett Park sits along the Hillsborough River and includes trails, playgrounds, picnic areas and other park amenities, so families have room to make the festival part of a longer day outdoors.

The organizer says parking and additional arrival information will be announced before the event, another reason to check the official page before leaving home.

For Tampa Bay residents looking for something genuinely different this weekend, Ghana Day stands out because it is not simply another fall fair.

It is a first-year cultural event designed to introduce people to Ghana through music, food, fashion, history and community.

Official information: Ghana Day in Tampa Bay, the City of Tampa event listing, and Rowlett Park.