Cultural events coastal towns' new attraction

Cultural events coastal towns’ new attraction

By Hans

During Easter the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) organised and hosted the Malindi Cultural Festival for the second year. The idea is to follow in the footsteps of the more successful Lamu Cultural Festival.

Malindi Festival was long overdue given the town’s rich cultural heritage and ancient monuments. Organising such an event where entry was free was no easy task.

Funds to offset organisational cost and prizes for participants were sourced from well-wishers, the business community and other corporate bodies.

The festival attracted many enthusiasts who enjoyed the various dance shows, dhow races, henna painting and other activities. There was also an exhibition at the yet to be officially opened New Coast Ethnical Museum at the District Officer office building. Though majority of the tourists had left, the few present enjoyed the festival.

The Malindi Festival was followed by Magarini Cultural Festival, which was held last week. Again, just like the Malindi Festival, there was little foreign presence for the Magarini fete. Yet these cultural festivals have the potential to be major tourist attraction in these regions hence they should be made to coincide with the tourist calendars.

Tourists to the coastal towns drastically reduce between the months of March and August since the weather in Europe is favourable.

The other alternative is to try and get locals to be interested in the cultural festivals. The challenge here, however, is that most Kenyans never seem to be interested in learning about other cultures.

Though many locals travelled to the Coast during the Easter break very few took time off to visit the historical sites dotting the region. Places like the seafront and the Malindi Museum had very few visitors.

Majority of the visitors were satisfied with walking along the beaches in their Bermuda shorts and bathing suits.