The Upper East Regional Centre for National Culture is gearing up for a three-day festival that will showcase the rich culture of the Upper East Region of Ghana. According to the Upper East Regional Director of the Centre, Pamphilio Kuubesingn, the festival will provide an opportunity for locals and visitors alike to learn about and experience the customs and traditions of the region.
In an interview on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, Mr. Kuubesingn noted that despite the region’s cultural attractiveness, there has been little effort to package it for wider dissemination. The festival, therefore, serves as a platform to promote the Upper East Region’s culture to a wider audience.
The festival will feature a range of cultural activities, including traditional music and dance performances, storytelling, and arts and crafts exhibitions. There will also be opportunities for visitors to sample traditional food and drinks from the region, as well as participate in workshops and seminars on various aspects of the local culture.
The Upper East Regional Centre for National Culture has been working closely with local communities and cultural groups to ensure that the festival accurately represents the diverse cultures and traditions of the region. The event is expected to attract a large number of visitors, both from within Ghana and from other countries, and to help boost tourism in the region.
The dates and location for the festival have yet to be announced, but Mr. Kuubesingn assured listeners that preparations are well underway and that more information will be released soon.
He was, however, worried about raising the needed financial resources for the event.
“We are going to do it soon. I am running after the chiefs. We here in the north are very generous, yet we are very stingy when it comes to helping our own people. A visitor can come from the south, a chief would offer a cow. They would carry the cow down there in a big truck and give it to him. Give that one cow to your people to help them do something, and your name will be mentioned. Do something, and your region will be elevated. No, they would not do it. Assuming the number of traditional councils that we have here, if each traditional council decides to donate one cow, [imagine what would happen]. If the farmers here donate one bag of corn, one bag of rice, in the end, we will be able to do this cultural week,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Tourism Authority has initiated a regional consultation process for organising a food festival in the Upper East Region, with the aim of promoting traditional meals from all ethnic groups in the area. The the Upper East Regional Director of the Tourism Authority, Wisdom Ahadzie, stated during an interview with Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show on A1 Radio that the festival would be an opportunity to showcase the region’s cultural heritage and fulfil the Authority’s mandate of protecting, preserving, and promoting its culture. The date for the festival has yet to be determined.
Mr. Ahadzie further explained that the food festival could start with competitions in schools, where students would pitch camps against each other to showcase their cooking skills. He emphasised that food tourism is a significant opportunity for the region, as people would travel to the area to experience and enjoy traditional meals, thereby enhancing the reputation of the Upper East Region.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
