Holiday celebrations continue Thursday in the City of Buffalo with the start of Kwanzaa.
Mayor Byron Brown will raise the flag at noon in Niagara Square, marking the beginning of the 53rd annual Kwanzaa celebration. This year's theme is "The Afrikan Man, The Original Man In Full Effect."
Patricia Alinda Elliott, chair of the Buffalo Kwanzaa Committee, shared her thoughts on Kwanzaa.
"Kwanzaa is everything. Kwanzaa is love. Kwanzaa ia peace," she said. "Kwanzaa is being unified in everything that you do. Kwanzaa is knowing for sure that you can be everything that you were created to be. Because we're Africans and we have African ingenuity."
The raising of the Liberation Flag serves as the kickoff for seven days of events and ceremonies to celebrate family, community and culture. A complete list can be found here.