Ekiti State is set to showcase its rich culture and arts in all its 16 local government areas at a festival christened EKIFEST 2019.
The festival, which will run from December 10 to 13, 2019, will include Kiddifest, art exhibition, cuisine, traditional poetry, freestyle carnival, traditional games and sports, fun ride to Ikogosi Warm Spring, Kegites gyration, Ekiti dress fashion show, musical concert and Ifajuyigbe, a stage play.
The organisers said the three-day event is meant to promote the culture of the Ekiti people and harness the potentials of the state to further drive indigenous economic enterprise, generate employment and ultimately make Ekiti State a vibrant destination for tourism.
A professor of Dramatic and Performing Arts, Ojo Razak Bakare, who gave the breakdown, said that apart from President Muhammadu Buhari, governors of all the Southwest, Kwara, Edo, Delta and Kogi states would be attending the event expected to feature over 1,500 participants.
Bakare, who spoke in Ado Ekiti yesterday at a press conference, said the cultural fiesta was meant to boost the socio-economic and cultural values of Ekiti State.
The professor, who is the Director of EKIFEST 2019, disclosed that the event would be in partnership with MTN, Bajinatu Herbal Drink and Nairabet, among other corporate bodies and sponsors.
He said the programme would showcase the rich cultural heritage of the state to the world market and build an arts and culture economy that can support the state in all spheres.
“Culture and tourism are powerful tools for socio-economic empowerment. Gambia doesn’t have oil and 50 per cent of the eco-tourism and arts and crafts potentials that Ekiti has, but it has culture and tourism.
“What we are trying to create in the 2019 edition of EKIFEST is a product that can be marketed in subsequent editions. We are rich in arts, culture and tourism and this is the best opportunity to market them,” he said.
The Director-General, Ekiti State Festival of Arts and Culture, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre, said the intention of the programme was to develop the talents of Ekiti’s young citizens, in tandem with the human capital development policy thrust of the Fayemi administration.
Ojo-Lanre added that the programme would also help to develop the local economy through patronage.
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