It’s Nama Cultural Festival time

The second Nama Cultural Festival is lined up from 30 May to 2 June and takes place in the heart of the south, at Westdene Stadium at Keetmanshoop.

The festival is an annual event in which Nama communities from Southern Africa and all over the world come together to celebrate their rich cultural heritage.

The focus of the festival is to restore the pride and dignity of the Nama people and ensure inter-generational transfer and preservation of their culture, language, history and values.

This year’s festival offers a dynamic programme that includes a wide range of activities such as a parade, cultural performances, traditional games, horse parades, presentations on Nama language and history, panel discussions, films, exhibitions of traditional products, traditional cuisine, indigenous medicine and much more. Throughout the four days the crowd can expect to be entertained by local artists, such as Tswazis, Dik Bones, KK, Esme, Jessa, Valentina Afrikaaner, Datigob and Friends and Linus Andreas.

Dawid #Eigub, the Chairman of the festival said discussions around the event started amongst Nama young people already in 2017.

“The planning of the event started in October 2017. After weeks of preparation and hard work, the first ever Nama Cultural Festival took place last year. After a successful event, we are pleased to host it again this year. When we speak of the festival we honestly only see growth,” he said.

#Eigub said last year’s event exceeded their expectations. “This year our sights are set to have more people attending. We will also include more activities for children like donkey cart rides and traditional games. We will also have a training session for SMEs scheduled immediately after the festival from 2 to 8 June, as part of our plan to address socio-economic issues in our communities,” he said.

#Eigub said through ticket sales, an estimated number of 3000 people are expected to attend the festival. “This will included a number of international guests from countries such as South Africa, Bostwana, United States and Spain. Although it is a Nama Cultural Festival, all diverse ethnic groups of Namibia and people from all corners of the world are invited. We live in a multi-cultural Namibia and we must show interest in the cultural beauty of others,” he said.