“All indoors, all three floors, all three stages of the Southgate House,” says Mechlem, clearly relieved at eliminating weather as a factor.

With more than a dozen local, regional and international artists lined up — including world renowned West African drum and dance outfit Sogbety Diomande — and a host of related events, perhaps the most amazing aspect of the WMF is the fact that Mechlem began the process of putting the festival together less than three months ago, an astonishingly brief amount of time to coordinate the details for a large event. “We started having meetings mid- to late- summer,” says Mechlem.