Nyota Ndogo, Eric Wainaina to represent Kenya in US festival

Singer Nyota Ndogo. [PHOTO: FILE]

Kenya will take part in a festival in the US to showcase its culture and increase public understanding of its traditions and people.

According to the Ministry of Sports Culture and the Arts, Eric Wainaina, Makadem, Susanna Owiyo and Nyota Ndogo are among several Kenyan artists who will perform at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The musicians are set to perform at the main performance venue of the festival, which will run run from June 25-29 and July 2-6.

The Folklife Festival is an event that celebrates cultures and lives from all over the world that is produced annually by the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the National Mall in Washington, DC in the US.

Kenya will take to the festival more than 80 participants, including athletes, wildlife experts, archeologists and artists highlighting the East African country’s rich cultural heritage under the programme "Kenya: Mambo Poa" organised by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.

Kenya's showcase will feature crafts, cooking demonstrations, dance and musical performances, interactive discussions, storytelling and a trade and investment conference, according to the Ministry.

The Ministry of Sports Culture and the Arts on behalf of the Government of Kenya and the Smithsonian Institution, a US Federal Government Agency, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2011 to enhance cultural cooperation between Kenya and the United States of America through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival of 2014.

“The Smithsonian and Kenya have a long standing relationship, going back more than 100 years to President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1909 scientific expedition,” says Preston Scott, programme curator.

“The 2014 Festival programme, which will increase public understanding and appreciation of Kenya’s culture, is another great example of this continued collaboration,” Scott says.

Among the athletes slated to grace the event are Olympic medal winners Tegla Loroupe and Henry Wanyoike.