Festival Eritrea 2026 — Dallas
The official Eritrean festival ran Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August 2026 at Texas Trust CU Theatre, 1001 Texas Trust Way, Grand Prairie, TX 75050, in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. It has closed. In the organisers' own words on 3 August 2026: thank you for coming to Festival Eritrea USA 2026 — see you in 2027 in Atlanta, GA. No 2027 dates, venue or tickets have been announced yet. The festival's own three-day program for 2026 is set out below with every start time and venue, followed by seminars, sports venues and the guests who appeared.
Official program
Friday · Jul 31
- 6:00 PM — Opening CeremonyCulture Committee · Outdoors
- 6:30 PM — Friends of Eritrea ReceptionPublic Diplomacy · Tsinat Booth
- 7:00 PM — Bahlawi PerformanceEritrean Dallas Youth · Awet Stage
- 8:00 PM — GuaylaCulture Committee · Awet Stage
Saturday · Aug 1
- 1:00 PM — Autism Health SeminarEritrean American Medical Association · Hafash Hall
- 3:00 PM — Mental Health SeminarEritrean American Medical Association · Hafash Hall
- 5:00 PM — Young Professionals SpotlightDawit Mulugheta & Semhar Merkey · Hafash Hall
- 6:00 PM — Eritrean Diaspora ShowcaseEritrean Diaspora · Awet Stage
- 6:00 PM — Public SeminarState of Eritrea Representative · Hafash Hall
- 8:00 PM — GuaylaCulture Committee · Awet Stage
Sunday · Aug 2
- 12:00 PM — Enterprise MeetingEnterprise Committee · Hafash Hall
- 3:00 PM — Book ForumEngineer Tsegay Teklemichael · Hafash Hall
- 4:00 PM — The Role of the Eritrean Diaspora in National Development: Advancing Growth Through Knowledge TransferEritrean Professionals Network · Hafash Hall
- 5:00 PM — Visual Arts ActivationWeyni Kahsay · Tsinat Booth
- 6:00 PM — Graduation CeremonyNCEA · Awet Stage
- 7:00 PM — Closing CeremonyFestival Eritrea Organizing Committee · Awet Stage
- 9:00 PM — GuaylaCulture Committee · Awet Stage
What was on
- ERI FEST LII tee — E Street ClothingE Street Clothing made a Dallas-exclusive tee for the 52nd annual festival — the Vintage Championship Tee, ERI FEST LII, Texas Edition, dated July 31 to August 2. E Street are a cultural streetwear label from the diaspora and one of the community partners behind this guide.
- Diaspora ShowcaseHosted by Seldi Gunzeb. Featuring AK, SoftStatiicc, Baba Desta, E.D. Metrix, 1Deep, and Kurly — the diaspora's own on the official stage.
- Young Professionals SpotlightA conversation with Dawit "David" Mulugheta, President of Team Sports at Athletes First, and Semhar Merkey, Senior Community & Marketing Manager at Yelp Dallas. Hosted by Adiam Ogubai of the Adi & the OG's Podcast, with free giveaways while supplies last, sponsored by Yelp. This runs in Hafash Hall an hour BEFORE the Diaspora Showcase on the Awet Stage — the official program has them back to back, so you can take in both.
- EAMA seminars — Autism & Mental HealthThe Eritrean American Medical Association hosts two sessions on Saturday afternoon — an Autism seminar at 1:00 PM and a Mental Health seminar at 3:00 PM — with Eritrean physicians, healthcare professionals, advocates and community leaders.
- Special guestsTwenty-eight musicians across three waves, announced on the festival's Instagram in the three weeks before the gates opened. First wave: Wedi Tukul, Engineer Asgodom, Tefono, Fatuma Suleiman, Jemal Romodon, Daniel Mana, Hanae, Tani Afar, and Johnny. Second wave: Bereket Ekot, Hadgat, Noah Tekle, Mussie Kortimi, Meron Mehari, Efrem, Mengis, Girmay, and Amaniel. Third wave: Ghenet Tesfazion, Tela Luji, Medhanie Woldemichael, Abel Girmay, Wedi Embaye, Almaz Tesfay, Miriam Misghina, Mati, Wedi Zagr, and Mehari Ghebreab.
- Sports tournamentsBasketball, volleyball, soccer, track & field, martial arts, and cycling — community tournaments across the festival weekend, at parks in Richardson and Garland rather than on the festival grounds. Friday 31 July and Saturday 1 August ran at Terrace Park, 200 N. Lois Ln, Richardson, TX 75081, with Friday's cycling at Breckinridge Park, 3555 Brand Rd, Richardson, TX 75082. Sunday 2 August moved to the Recreation Center, 342 W. Oates Rd, Garland, TX 75043. Friday opened with the 6:15 AM opening ceremony. Team registration closed before the tournaments began; spectators were welcome.
- Talks, forums and ceremoniesThe daytime programme away from the music. Saturday's public seminar at 6:00 PM was given by Yusuf Idris Saik, Head of Organizational Affairs at the PFDJ. Sunday ran three: a book forum and signing at 3:00 PM with the engineer and author Tsegay Teklemichael, presenting a book whose English subtitle reads "Isaias Afewerki: From the Big and Small Picture"; a panel at 4:00 PM, The Role of the Eritrean Diaspora in National Development: Advancing Growth Through Knowledge Transfer, with Mussie Futur, a global engineering and manufacturing leader, and Ezra Musa, a data analyst in business intelligence; and the Graduation Recognition Ceremony at 6:00 PM on the Awet Stage, honouring the Class of 2026.
- Visual Arts ActivationCurated by Weyni Kahsay: a community mural activation, an artist showcase, and an arts and crafts table, with Weyni Kahsay, Nadia Tsegga, Elon Abebe and Samariya Teclu.
- Announcements, February to AugustThe rest of what the festival published, in the order it went out. A save-the-date in February, a craft day at the South Dallas Cultural Center in March, then the calls — sponsors, hotels, sports sign-ups, graduating seniors, the Miss Eritrea pageant, volunteers. A volunteers' meeting at the Huffines Recreation Center in Richardson on 25 July. The venue itself, announced on 30 July, the day before the gates opened. And the last graphic of the year, thanking everyone who came and naming Atlanta, Georgia for 2027.
Nightlife around the festival
- King of Spades — R&B DinnerThursday, July 30, 2026 · 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM · Paparazzi Chophouse, Deep Ellum, Dallas
- Faces + FriendsThursday, July 30, 2026 · 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM · Friends Only, Deep Ellum, Dallas
- Global Sounds (True CLRS)Friday, July 31, 2026 · 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM · Club Vivo, Downtown, Dallas
- East vs WestSaturday, August 1, 2026 · 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM · The Backyard, Deep Ellum, Dallas
- SHIKOR All White Day PartySunday, August 2, 2026 · 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM · Villa Paradiso, Bishop Arts, Dallas
- World AfrikaSunday, August 2, 2026 · 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM · Escena, Arts District, Dallas
By night
ERI FEST 2026 was the Eritrean festival weekend in Dallas, Texas — Thursday 30 July to Sunday 2 August 2026, around the official Festival Eritrea. The weekend has finished; this is the 2026 archive, kept online as a record. The organisers have announced the next Festival Eritrea USA for 2027 in Atlanta, GA. No 2027 dates, venue, programme or tickets have been announced yet. This is an unofficial, fan-built guide. It sells no tickets and organises no events. Now the weekend is over it links to no ticket seller at all.