The Dakar Carnival will hold its fifth edition from November 25 to December 1. Now that it has reached maturity, this cultural event is affirming its status as a forum and showcase for popular culture and local traditions.
The Dakar Carnival makes its mark. From November 25 to December 1, this festival of popular traditions and cultures will be holding its 5th edition. Under the theme "Heritage and Transmission", this upcoming event will be an opportunity to question and examine the sociological and economic aspects of culture. The organizers promise a rich and varied program, more festive and more full of discoveries. Local costumes, masks, dances, music and rhythms will be on display in all their splendor and symbolism. Cinema, theater, handicrafts and gastronomy will also be on the menu of festivities and debates. This year, the Xalam, a fifty-year-old musical group, and Pr Massène Sène are the featured patrons.
Before Carnival week, there will be a baobab party at Mbourand another gala evening, "Coosaan", in Dakar. During the week (November 25 - December 1), the Carnival Village will host artisan exhibitions, workshops, open-air film screenings and a children's area. There will also be a day dedicated to the participating communes. A round-table discussion, led by Prof. Ibrahima Wane (Festival Scientific Advisor), will examine the "Role of festivals in promoting heritage and tourism".
Then, in the last weekend of November, the Dakar Carnival enters its final three days with a cypher (rappers get together to improvise and express themselves) of urban cultures (Friday), the Children's Carnival, the grand parade of cultural diversity and the big concert (Saturday), and finally the giant Ceebu Jën and the closing Grand Sabar.
After four editions, the Dakar Carnival has established itself as Dakar's festival of popular traditions and cultures. It's an ideal forum for showcasing cultural heritage in its traditional and contemporary forms. The essence of the festival lies in the promotion of local traditions and cultural diversity. Every year, at the end of November, a number of cultural playersIn Dakar, artists, craftsmen, tourism professionals and local authorities come together in a village with a wide range of activities, culminating in a grand parade of cultural diversity on the last Saturday in November.
The initiator, Fatou Kassé-Sarr, presents these moments as much more than a simple cultural celebration. "The Dakar Carnival showcases the wealth of Dakar's cultural traditions. Senegal and Africa. It promotes Made in Senegal and Made in Africa. This helps to encourage the consumption of local products and strengthen national pride," says the president of the Dakar Carnival. She goes on to say that the carnival celebrates Senegal and Africa, and invites friendly peoples to share the plurality of their cultures in a spirit of respect and sharing.
"In a globalized world, the Dakar Carnival is part of an approach to cultural sovereignty, promoting our cultural practices and heritage while encouraging the expression of plurality and authenticity. It's a platform for promoting local products and traditional know-how, encouraging consumption of local products and reinforcing national pride, while opening up to the world",
asserts Fatou Kassé-Sarr, in an official press release sent to the editor yesterday.
The cultural promoter also takes the opportunity to plead for greater recognition of popular cultures and traditions. "Senegal has oil, mining, agricultural and fishing resources, but it's culture that has the unique power to generate joy, strengthen social ties, encourage living together, promote mutual understanding, encourage learning, enhance our talents and create a sense of conviviality and positivity," defends Fatou Kassé-Sarr.
