Minnesota’s Liberian community will celebrate Liberia’s 179th Independence Day through a series of events this weekend across the Twin Cities.

The celebration includes soccer tournaments, concerts at various venues and cultural festivities. The highlights include a Saturday morning parade and Day in the Park.

The Liberian population is one of the largest ethnic communities in Minnesota, with more than  20,000 living in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota, according to Minnesota Compass.

“This was something that started off as two people […] putting something together to celebrate with our community,” said Marie Dweh, co-founder of the non-profit organization We Are Liberian. “It’s grown so much in a positive way. It has impacted us very significantly and it warms my heart and […] just makes us want to keep on doing it.” 

Preserving culture and connecting generations is the focal point for We Are Liberian’s second annual Liberian Independence Day Parade & Day in the Park festivities.

“That sense of attachment and affiliation back to their roots, that’s […] why we have these celebrations,” said Kamaty Diahn, executive director of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM). Her nonprofit was founded in 1973 to provide social services and advocate for the state’s Liberian community.

Thousands attended last year’s parade and park festival and organizers are hoping to build on that success in 2026.

“We wanted our community to have something to be proud of, a positive way to come together and celebrate,” said Dweh of the parade and park festival. The 2025 gathering attracted visitors from as far as New York, as well as various cultures across Minnesota who came to celebrate. 

“We’ve seen the perspective of our fellow Liberians change, to where they want to come together and wrap their hands around the event to continue to make it prosperous and grow the event,” Dweh said.

For younger generations of Liberians, Dweh hopes the celebration shows them the positive work happening in their community. so they can take away something and make the community better.

“Our whole mission is to bridge the gap between the older generation and the new generation so that we can take on the torch and do greater things in Minnesota,” Dweh said.

The soccer match

Soccer has long been a traditional way of bringing Minnesota’s Liberian community together. In partnership with OLM, the Liberian Sporting Association of Minnesota (LSA-MN) put together its  annual soccer match, said Diahn. 

The soccer match will be a duplicate of the Liberian rival teams Mighty Barrolle FC vs Invincible Eleven (I.E.), with Mighty Barrolle in red jerseys and Invincible Eleven in yellow.

Cletus Constance, community leader and founder of the LSA-MN, said soccer is “a big deal in the Liberian community.”“It’s always been a uniting factor in the community,” he said. Even though tribes within Liberia may fight or argue, “playing soccer, everyone puts aside their differences.” 

His group began hosting the Liberian Independence Day events in 2021, marking six years of competition that have included basketball, girls’ kickball and boys’ soccer tournaments. The soccer matches are played by both adults and kids. Constance says events like this introduces kids to many sports and to Liberian culture.

Constance said the event  has become one of the biggest gatherings for Minnesota’s Liberian community. In 2021, about 1,000 people attended. It grew to 3,000 the following year. He said the crowd continues to grow as Liberians from across the country travel to Minnesota to celebrate Independence Day.

‘A part of something’

Patrick Weah, a first-generation Liberian, said while past gatherings seemed “under the radar,” last year’s parade and festival felt like a major celebration centered on Liberian culture and independence. He enjoyed the traditional food, clothes, and music.

“It really makes you feel like you’re a part of something,” Weah said.

Weah said recent challenges, including Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities, have made it difficult for immigrant communities to stay connected. As someone with immigrant parents, he said he has seen how fear and uncertainty have affected people’s ability to go to work, earn money and navigate the immigration process.

He said with the Liberian Independence Day festivals, it gets people out of focusing on themselves to come together and create memories.

“It’s an outlet for people,” Weah said. “It gets you to remember there’s things to enjoy in life.”

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