The 2010 Calabar Festival is set to take off with a bang with live musical performances by; 2Face, MI, Banky W and Weird MC lined up to set off the 32 day long entertainment fiesta on December 1.
This nouvelle concept according to the organisers is one of many innovations and improvements introduced to make the Festival’s 32 day package ‘bigger and better than ever ‘.According to Nzan Ogbe, Special Adviser to the Cross River State Government on Events Management, “The festival is a compendium of activities with diverse scope and content, which we try to improve on over the years with the new initiatives introduced this year and a strong committee, I can say we are good to go.”
The Festival kicks off annually from the 30th of November to the 1st of January and is traditionally flagged off by a tree lighting ceremony, conducted on the stately lawns of Millennium park attended by the State Governor, his wife, members of the State Executive Council and well wishers.
This year, organisers have introduced several new innovations to make this year’s festival an all comer’s affair. According to Ogbe ‘“The 32 day Festival, has all kinds of components to keep one occupied. It is a unique package in which different groups – old or young, single or with family can benefit from’
New events introduced include, the Calabar Water Carnival (a boat regatta to showcase the state’s rich culture on water), a food fair (to showcase state’s renowned indigenous cuisine at its best), the governor’s masked ball (a charity event to raise funds for Pneumonia Vaccines), and a host of others, details of which will be unveiled in due course.
The Calabar Festival is rapidly evolving into an enduring and recognisable brand of its own, presently attracting thousands of holidaymakers from within the country and beyond. This number has grown steadily throughout the years with the Festival committee anticipating twice the number of visitors to partake in events and merriments from the previous year.
Already preparations are already in top gear and organisers are working round the clock to ensure that the visitors to the serene city of Calabar during this period go away with a justified sense of satisfaction.
However, it’s not all about song and dance, Ogbe says “It is a festival that showcases the best of music, culture and talent. The festival is Cross River State’s tourism niche. Youths in particular stand to benefit from the festival as there are initiatives aimed at training interested youths in various aspects of events production, management and entertainment.
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