Kenya’s counties get active with tourism promotion as the Rusinga Cultural Festival shows

RUSINGA CULTURAL FESTIVAL SHOWS THE MERIT OF LOCAL TOURISM PROMOTIONS

(Posted 28th November 2015)

The second edition of the Rusinga Festival will this year take place from the 17th to the 18th of December and is going to be staged at the Kamasengre Primary School Grounds in Rusinga / Homabay County on the shores of Lake Victoria.

The local organizers of the Chula Cultural Foundation and Anne Eboso, Festival Producer, have in recent days shared relevant material with this correspondent to inform the general public of the ideals of the Rusinga Festival and of its objectives. Wrote Anne in a mail yesterday:

The Rusinga Cultural Festival is an annual celebration of the Suba culture through music, sports, food, art, exhibitions, oral performances, dances and workshops. As a result of assimilation and intermarriage with the Luo, the Suba culture has come under pressure and the language is now listed in UNESCO’s Red Book of Endangered Languages (2003)

The objectives of the festival are:

• To recognize, celebrate and appreciate all aspects of the Abasuba culture (one of the marginalized communities in the country)

• To safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of the Suba.

• To promote the Suba Islands – Rusinga and Mfangano as tourist destinations (locally, regionally and internationally)

• To provide a platform for the local organizations and groups to

showcase/market/sell their products and services.

• To open up the cultural industry as an opportunity for cultural practitioners.

• To create networks between the community and corporate, learning institutions, NGOs, diplomatic mission, parastatals and government institutions.

• To provide a forum for discussing things affecting the community e.g. health &sanitation, HIV, banking, social security protection

The Rusinga Cultural Festival is organized by the Chula Foundation and Chula is the Luo word for Island. This is symbolic because the region where Suba is still strongest is in the Islands of Rusinga and Mfangano, the latter incidentally visited by a post Africa Travel Association Congress media trip.

The mission of the Chula Foundation is, among other objectives, to provide space for showcasing, promoting and preserving the Abasuba culture and rests on these pillars:

• Rusinga Cultural Festival

• Island Eves

• Island Adams

• Boat/floating library

• Community radio

Among the many activities lined up during the two festival days will be the showcasing of local food, sporting competitions including traditional wrestling and canoe races, cultural performances, art exhibitions, a cultural pageant contest, a book exhibition and workshops on topics thought relevant to improve the lives of these largely fishing and farming communities.

The organizers made pictures available from last year’s inaugural event, which came on the heels of Kenya’s political devolution which allowed counties to promote their own tourism attractions, either alone or in partnership with adjoining counties.

The event last year was covered by five of the leading Kenyan media organizations, drew in over 4.000 visitors, attracted 11 corporate sponsors and features a dozen events over the two days. This year, largely due to the greater exposure in the media, are the organizers expecting a significant rise of festival visitors and hotels in Homa Bay and of course Kisumu are expected to be busy ahead of the holiday season which starts just days after the festival has ended.

The festival is again partnering with the Kenya Tourism Board which has embraced regional partnerships to promote parts of Kenya which in the past were not seen as mainstream tourism attractions but nevertheless showcased the rich cultural and historical diversity of the country. The Kenya Maritime Authority too is on board, no surprise given the lake side location of Homabay County.

For added information on Destination Kenya click on www.magicalkenya.com or visit www.kws.go.ke for information about the nearby Ruma National Park which was previously known as Lambwe Valley National Park, one of the last retreats of the rare Roan antelope.