By Mauline Anyango Okoth
Kisumu County in collaboration with the Red committee celebrated the Kenya music and cultural festival on the 18th and 19th November this year at Mama Grace Onyango social centre.
The festival themed “embrace cultural diversity and connections in the 21st century and beyond,” was officially opened by the county chief officer of tourism and culture Mr. Jerald Ondiek.
Participants drawn from Kisumu gave performances in storytelling, dances, dramatized verses, chanting, sports commentating, spoken words, plays, films, bands, taarab, jazz bands and choir. Certificates were awarded to the first, second and third positions. A certificate of merit was awarded to the trainer, producer and director of the outstanding presentation of above 90% for music and elocution and 80% theatre sound film while a certificate of appreciation was awarded to the trainer, producer, and directors that participated at the National Kenya music and cultural festival.
The objectives of the Kenya music and cultural festival included to identify and safeguarding Kenya’s tangible and intangible cultural diversities, to enhance the standards for the development of the arts, culture exchange at national and international levels, to empower artists and cultural practitioners through workshops, capacity building and performance at the festival, to promote peace, national values and cohesion amongst Kenya’s communities and to accelerate the realization of Kenya’s development blueprint vision 2030.
Also present was the county director of culture Mr.Gabriel Osendo.
