There is a particular kind of ownership that comes with being born into something larger than yourself — not inherited exactly, but earned through proximity, through watching, and through eventually stepping forward to carry it. Oshunbumi Fernandez-West knows that weight. As CEO of ODUNDE, the largest African American street festival in North America, she leads a cultural institution her mother Lois Fernandez built from a $100 grant in 1975 at 23rd and South Street.

Fifty years later, the festival draws hundreds of thousands to Philadelphia every June, generates $28 million in direct economic impact on the city, and carries a mission — to educate the public on the richness of African and African American culture — that Oshunbumi Fernandez-West has spent three decades making unmistakably her own. She assumed leadership in 1996, and the organization has not stood still since.

ODUNDE 365, launched in 2011, extended the reach into year-round programming across dance, music, entrepreneurship, and education. Her production company, BUMI PRODUCTIONS, curates major events well beyond the festival itself. She co-founded Kwanzabration with music legend Kenny Gamble, represented Philadelphia on a trade mission to Brazil and Chile, and has been recognized by the NAACP, the Diaspora African Forum in South Africa, and iHeart Radio for her leadership.

Oshunbumi Fernandez-West is one of the most influential African American leaders in the city. She holds a BA in Human Biology-Anthropology from Temple University and an MBA from LaSalle. Yet ask Oshunbumi Fernandez-West about her connection to Philadelphia and she doesn’t reach for any of that. She goes straight to the source — her role, her mother, and the institution that binds them both: “I am the CEO of the largest African American Street Festival in North America, which was created by my mother Lois Fernandez.”

Philadelphia born and raised, she still lives close enough to Center City to walk there in under ten minutes — a detail she offers with obvious pride. For dinner, she points to Amina’s. For shopping, she keeps it grounded: Zara at King of Prussia and Cherry Hill malls.

When asked what makes the city hers, her answer is immediate. “I absolutely love that I can walk from my house into Center City in less than 10 minutes and eat at amazing restaurants and shop at wonderful stores.” The city’s best-kept secret, she says, isn’t a hidden bar or a secret block. It’s the layered, neighborhood-by-neighborhood dining scene that most people overlook — all of those restaurants that reflect who Philadelphia actually is, across every population and every neighborhood in the city.

The 2026 ODUNDE Festival runs June 7–13, with Festival Day on Sunday, June 14, at 23rd and South Street. Oshunbumi Fernandez-West has also announced LOIS, a forthcoming documentary she describes as a love letter from a daughter to her mother — a portrait of the woman who started it all.

Connect with Oshunbumi Fernandez-West

@odundeceo

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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