The Capital City Kwanzaa Festival returns to Richmond on Friday, Dec. 30, bringing a suite of year-end celebrations united under the theme “Celebrating Black Futures.”

The Elegba Folklore Society will present the event, which will run from 5 to 10 p.m. in Exhibit Hall B at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 5th and Marshall streets.

Kwanzaa is a Pan-African holiday of unity, strength, clarity and solidarity based on reconnection with essential African value systems.

Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba or “The Seven Principles,” is the festival’s keynote speaker. Dr. Karenga is a professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, Calif. A prolific author, his latest book is “The Liberation Ethics of Malcolm X: Critical Consciousness, Moral Grounding and 2020 Transformative Struggle.”

“Richmond is a major center for the celebration of Kwanzaa,” Dr. Karenga said in a statement. “It is an important site of African-American history and culture, and it has been a very welcoming and enjoyable experience for my wife, Tiamoyo and me.”

The festival’s opening begins with the African Market, featuring art, clothing, food, literature and more. The Pouring of Ancestral Libation and Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Ceremony will be led by Janine Y. Bell, artistic director for the Elegba Folklore Society.

“We are happy to see that tickets are selling at a steady pace, although we expect a pretty robust walk-up audience,” Ms. Bell said. “We are humbled when people respond enthusiastically and positively to the programs that the Elegba Folklore Society invites them to.”

With the festival taking place on the fifth day of Kwanzaa, known as Nia, its sessions will include workshops focused on personal and community triumph, African economics, health maintenance and environmental justice. The Watoto Kwanzaa activities, meanwhile, will highlight art making and cultural education for children.

Various performances will be featured throughout the event, including the Pan Masters Steel Drum Orchestra, singer Kaay Taurus, and a mashup of West African dance, music and oral tradition courtesy of Plunky & Oneness and the Elegba Folklore Society.

“The Capital City Kwanzaa Fes- tival is a joy for the Elegba Folklore Society to present for not only our community, but for those who visit from other cities,” Ms. Bell said. “We take our time to make sure that not only is it entertaining, but also that it is affirming.”

As COVID-19 remains an ongoing concern, the festival organizers ask attendees to take a COVID test in advance if they are experiencing any symptoms. Anyone with positive test results is encouraged to stay home, rest and recover.

Admission is $6 for advance tickets for the general public, and $7 at the door. Students ages 12 to 18 and seniors age 65 and older can purchase advance tickets for $5, or $6 at the door. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $5, but only in advance, while admission is free for children under age 12.

For more details, please visit Elegba Folklore Society’s website at www.efsinc.org/events/festivals/kwanzaa-festival, or call 804-644-3900.