Lamu Annual Cultural Festival 2011 A Huge Success

Part of a poster depicting this year's cultural event at Lamu. Photo courtesy of Alliance Francaise.

Sometime last month we posted a story on this year’s Lamu Cultural  Festival and talked about how over the years the event had grown in size and popularity. Well, this year’s event did not disappoint.

Interestingly though, out of the large turnout, more than 90% of the visitors to the event were domestic. Several foreign tourists cancelled their bookings after the advisories that were issued by their countries following the kidnapping incidences in Lamu declared the coastal town unsafe.

In a colourful showcase of Kenyan cultures, dance and song, the event changed the landscape of Lamu’s sea front and Mkunguni hall where the bulk of the festival activities took place. A retinue of dignitaries from the French and Spanish embassies, the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), the European Union, among others, were in attendance led by Tourism Minister, Najib Balala.

More than 10,000 visitors from Malindi, Mombasa, Nairobi and other towns in the country flocked to the island to witness the historic annual festival held to promote culture. Hotels, tour companies and transporters did roaring business as security was beefed up and street lighting improved at night to ensure the merry making continued throughout the night.

The highlight of the festivities was marked by the presence of a little-known tribe – the Aweer (Dahalo), a minority community in Lamu who were previously hunters and gatherers. According to Minority Rights Group International, they number about 3,500 and are largely dependent on shifting agriculture. They were forced to abandon hunting which is banned by the government for conservation reasons. At the festival, they had a chance to showcase their traditional lifestyle and music.

The French and Spanish governments pledged to continue their support of the event. The French government has been supporting the festival for the last 11 years while the Spanish government has offered sponsorship for the last 6 years. The European Union also promised to support the event in the future.

307 total views, 5 views today