Sounds of Wisdom festival Zanzibar 2009
September 26, 2008
Sauti za Busara is an international festival celebrating East African music taking place around the second weekend of February each year in Zanzibar. The dates for 2009 will be 12th to 17th of February.
Featuring top-quality musical performances by more than 400 established and upcoming artists (40 groups in total), Sauti za Busara has already established itself as one of Africa’s leading music festivals. It’s an event that unites people in celebration. The festival celebrates Swahili music and culture, old and new. It’s popular with locals and now attracting people from all over the world. Since the first Sauti za Busara festival in 2004, the number of visitors to Zanzibar during February has increased 400%, boosting local revenue and bringing important economic benefits to the island through cultural tourism. The festival directly employs 100 local crew, builds skills and opportunities for musicians, artists, traders and technicians.
During the time of Sauti za Busara, all the hotels and restaurants in Stone Town are full, the boats and planes are fully booked, the tour guides are busy, Zanzibar is energised and excitement is in the air.
A carnival and street parade kicks off festivities on Thursday 12th February, featuring a beni brass band, drummers, wanandege (umbrella women), dancers, stilt walkers and acrobats. The parade arrives at Forodhani around 5pm and continues into the Mambo Club (grassy side) of the Old Fort, where the main stage of the festival is situated. The venue is exploding with colour and there are around twenty stalls selling food and refreshments, clothing, music and local handicrafts.
From Thursday through til Sunday, around ten groups perform each day. Big names rub shoulders with upcoming artists, including thirty of the best groups of Zanzibar, Tanzania and around East Africa, from Comoros, Zimbabwe, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and UK, traditional and modern, acoustic and electric.
ZARA now offers a luxury 12 nights all-inclusive program with a Canadian tour leader, visiting the festival and staying at the historic 236 Hurumzi Hotel in Stonetown. After the Festival, we are up to the 5 star Fairmont Zanzibar for some downtime at the beach. See the itinerary.
Entry Filed under: Tanzania Travel News. Tags: cultural event, east african music, festival, music festival, old fort, performances, sauti za busara, words of wisdom, zanzibar.
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kpani addy | November 20, 2008 at 1:35 am
Hello,
Am very happy to send you this mail…………………..
well the reason why am sending you this mail is………. i was going through a festivals sites and i saw your site, it was so attractive so i stop and decided to give you a mail….
We are based in Ghana. GAGBEKEBII CULTURAL TROUPE is an African traditional acrobatic group that performs all African traditional cultural dance.acrobatic dancers and cultural dancers…. We perform on functions such as launchings, entertainment and
among other states functions (e.g. Ghana’s independence day every year). We don’t only dance but we also teach individuals and schools that have
interest in cultural dance and acrobatic percussion.We organize tourism for individuals and groups with the interest of knowing
much about Africa particularly Ghana and it diverse cultural values. With
our wide range of traditional drums and cultural outfits that puts smiles on
your face, you are assured of a memorable visit to Ghana, the gateway to
Africa.Do you seek to entertain your crowd, occasion, launching or amusement
programs? Do you also seek to entertain, educate your crowd about African
traditional culture? Do you want to get a exposed to traditional Ghanaian
Drums and Outfits? Please call on us for your reservations. We look forward
to hear from you soon.
Thank you
you visit our website at http://www.therhythmisghanagetyou.com or you can call us at 0285393373.thank you