No festivals to mark ‘boring’ Utamaduni day

Throngs of individuals stretched out so far as the attention might see. That was the state of affairs at this yr’s DSTV Scrumptious Worldwide Meals and Music Competition in South Africa.

When it was introduced that the pageant can be returning after a two-year hiatus that had been occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, tickets for the Saturday occasion, with Nigerian artiste Burna Boy because the headliner, sold out within six weeks.

There was an envy-inducing 100,000 individuals current on the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit the place the occasion was held on September 24, and an nearly comparable quantity the subsequent day when American RnB artiste Babyface headlined the pageant.

Whereas Burna Boy was the primary act, the remainder of the artiste lineup on the two-day occasion was unbelievable, that includes different megastars resembling three-time Grammy award-winning artiste Angie Stone, Digable Planets and G-Pressure, and South African mega stars like Kwaito legends Mdu, Kabelo Thebe and lots of others. 

South Africa is a dancing nation, so the Channel O Drip stage on the similar pageant additionally featured varied dance DJs and artistes resembling DBN Gogo, Kemo Mphela, Mellow & Sleazy, Mr JazzIQ and Blxckie.

Quite a few sponsors and companions have been featured, from Mercedes, who invited attendees to expertise their newest, most luxurious fashions proper from the VIP entrance, to scores of meals stalls the place individuals might expertise South Africa’s mouth-watering cuisine.

The pageant, which started 7 years in the past, really lived as much as its billing as “the music pageant for meals lovers and meals pageant for music lovers”.

The icing on the cake was that the pageant was aptly held throughout the nation’s Heritage weekend, so locals and foreigners alike might recognize and have fun South Africa’s tradition and traditions in such an occasion.

 As we have fun our personal heritage as we speak on Utamaduni Day, there shall be a smattering of songs and dances at varied leisure spots, however no pageant is slated wherever. Questions come up over the place Kenya is when it comes to festivals. Can we attain such numbers as nicely?

A number of Kenyan influencers have been on the Scrumptious Competition courtesy of South African Tourism, most of whom expressed amazement on the grandeur that it had. The pageant that comes closest in Kenya is the Koroga Competition, one of many greatest live shows in East Africa, which can be a two-day occasion that has been held for 7 years, with 30 editions, and the thirty first is coming quickly.

Talking to The Normal on the pageant, Farida Idris, Mission Director of the Koroga Competition, mentioned that they have been studying classes from Scrumptious.

“We now have all the time needed to benchmark Koroga as a global pageant. Coming to see Scrumptious, there may be a lot that you simply be taught from it when it comes to totally different concepts. We clearly have our personal area of interest and a singular structure of how we execute Koroga,” she mentioned.

One distinction she identified was that at Koroga, the youth and the older era are separated. The Saturday present is particularly devoted to the youth, the place they give attention to Kenyan artists solely and the target market is about 18 to 27, whereas day two, is the primary day, which is a household day that even youngsters can attend.

“However what I discovered right here is that they’ve a piece for the youth that’s utterly separate from the primary stage and the primary area and the primary all the pieces, they usually name it to stage 2. After which you may have your older era on each days, where the main acts are performing,” she mentioned.

The Lamu Cultural Competition has not been held in over 4 years, but it was a significant supply of earnings for the county.

Different festivals within the nation are nonetheless nonetheless ongoing, such because the Beneath The Baobabs Competition (previously often called Kilifi New 12 months Competition) held on the finish of yearly, whose organizers say has advanced right into a 2-day, 2-night Kenyan Vacation spot pageant, and can this yr function over 60 East African and worldwide acts.

A South African occasions coordinator, Ndumiso Buthelezi, also called 2Lee Stark, instructed The Normal throughout the Scrumptious Competition that such occasions have been good for the continent.

“We might additionally like to see what Kenya has as nicely. We might get to have a enjoyable change when it comes to what goes down there,” he mentioned.