3rd Ghana Carnival event launched
The third edition of Ghana Carnival has been launched in Accra with a call on the public to actively participate and showcase the diverse and unique Ghanaian culture and traditions.
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The three-day event, on the theme: “My culture rocks,” is expected to feature music and dance groups from across the country. Other participating countries are Nigeria, Togo, Seychelles and Trinidad and Tobago.
The carnival float, which will start on July 1, 2016, will include students, representatives of corporate institutions and keep fit clubs.
They will march through some principal streets of Accra from the Obra Spot near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange to the Independence Square for an exhibition and sale of made-in-Ghana goods. There will also be food bazaar, talent hunts and games. On July 2 and 3, 2016, there would be a mammoth beach jam at the Labadi Pleasure Beach.
Objective
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said the event was to spice up the tourism landscape and also promote domestic tourism through culture and the creative arts.
She said it was also to afford creative arts practitioners the platform to showcase their potential such as in costume designing, dance choreography, music composition and art.
“Ultimately it is to be used as a tool for socio-economic development by encouraging the establishment of business linkages, wealth creation and promotion of business ideas among the huge numbers of people who congregate during the carnival,” she said.
Ambassadors
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare used the occasion to unveil ace broadcaster Abeiku Santana Aggrey as an ambassador for the carnival.
Two other ambassadors had earlier been named. They are John Dumelo, a film actor who has starred in several movies in Ghana and abroad, and Abraham Attah, the child prodigy who recently made waves at the 88th Academy Awards, Oscars 2016 and put Ghana on the international stage.
Mrs Ofosu-Agyare expressed the hope that the three ambassadors would use their fame, expertise and goodwill to promote the development of tourism in the country.
The launch was spiced with a colourful performance by the Ghana Dance Ensemble after guests enjoyed a 10-minute documentary titled ‘The Carnival Story.’
Background
The Ghana Carnival event, which started in 2013, was preceded by a teaser organised in 2012 in collaboration with the Centre for Carnival Arts in Luton, United Kingdom.
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