Yuletide celebration in Onitsha is expected to be different as the ancient city gears up for the inaugural edition of Golibe Festival, the first of its kind in South East Nigeria and one of the biggest in West Africa.
Sponsored by indigenous energy multinational, Aiteo Group, The Golibe Festival Onitsha is positioned as a family-friendly, fun-filled festival with high educational content to showcase the city’s rich cultural heritage.
It promises to fill the gap in entertainment offering available to over 20 million residents and visitors to the South-East, especially from the diaspora, during the yuletide, the organiser said.
The yuletide season is the time for enjoyment and ‘golibe,’ the Igbo word for rejoice.
The festival is slated for a period of ten days, commencing with the Onitsha Choral Rendition, an event created to thrill all and sundry in the spirit of Christmas.
The rendition will also feature a carol singing competition where the finest choral groups in South Eastern Nigeria will perform variety of Christmas songs as well as give their own interpretation of the Golibe theme song. The singing competition will have its grand finale on the 23rd and 24th of December, 2018, at the Ime Obi Onitsha, ushering in the grand festival.
Specially put in place for the young and the young at heart is the Golibe Dreamland Fun Fair which will feature arcade games and entertainment (bouncy castles, train rides, video games booth), video documentaries about Onitsha people, history, culture and traditions, Cultural dances, arts and crafts exhibition among others. Techquest is also on board with a Robotics Masterclass for children. This will run from the 25 of December to the last day of the festival. Venue is also at the Ime Obi.
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For those who just want to relax in a comfy environment, the The Chill Zone, a hang-out arena for youths and adults which features a cozy lounge arrangement with music, games and gastronomy, is available. Besides entertainment, it provides avenue for promoting local talent and identifying new ones. The chill zone will open from Christmas day and run till the 30th of December at the Festival Arena, Chuba Ikpeazu Stadium.
The festival will also feature the prestigious Ado League, a football competition among the 18 Onitsha villages. It started in the 1990s and has remained an annual event ever since.
The highlight of the festival will be the Golibe Carnival, the largest street party in South Eastern Nigeria and one of the biggest in West Africa. The carnival will feature a pageant for the Golibe King and Queen, as well as the Golibe Homecoming King and Queen. This will be on the 27th of December.
As part of the carnival is the Street Arts Festival which will involve Visual Artists and Musicians performing at various venues throughout the carnival route. This event slated for the 28th of December is for the purpose of the revival of Onitsha as the geographical-cultural cross section of what Omambala people used to be and what the town could become.
The festival will flow into the grand carnival parade scheduled for the 29th of December. Start off for the parade will be at the DMGS roundabout, through the Oguta road/ Ugwunabampka intercession and then Awka road. The parade will end at the Chuba Ikpeazu Stadium.
30th of December has been set aside specially for an event that will feature masquerades from all over Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi and other States. Some of the Masquerades to feature at Golibe Festival 2018 include: Ayolugbe, Agbogo Mmuo, Ogolo, Agaba, Ijele, Nnekwu Ugo, Ogwo Tulu Mgbe, Wonder, Ada, Izaga and Enyi (Elephant).
The masquerades will hold a procession along the Carnival Route and stopover at homes of selected eminent indigenes and residents of Onitsha.
Capping off the festival will be the Crossover Night Concert on the 31st of December. The Cross Over Concert will be a celebration and thanksgiving concert that combines gospel and Afro-Pop music in a world class concert setting with lights, sound, stage effects and adrenaline, and musical performance by A, B & C -List Artists from across the country. The event will start at 8pm
For a city hosting a major festival, Onitsha meets the full criteria for the Golibe Festival. Onitsha is one of Nigeria’s biggest cosmopolitan cities, strategically located in the east and serves as a gateway to the Igbo heartland as well as the rest of Nigeria.
Over 100,000 guests are expected to flood the city of Onitsha for the festival.
