By Yunus S Saliu
The community of Barra/Niumi in collaboration with the National Center for Arts and Culture joined by other tradition and cultural festival enthusiasts over the weekend converged at Fort Bullen in Barra, North Bank Region for the official opening and celebration of a weeklong annual Niumi Fort Bullen Festival.
This ongoing celebration marked the 2nd edition of the Niumi Fort Bullen Festival which maiden edition was held in December 2018. The ongoing 2nd edition earlier scheduled for 13th to 20th December 2019 but shifted to present day due to the unfortunate capsized boat carried some migrants from North Bank Region that met their untimely death at the sea near Mauritania while on their way to Europe through ‘backway’ in December 2019 earlier before the scheduled date.
Niumi Fort Bullen Festival is one of the additional new festivals which the National Center for Arts and Culture under the aegis of Ministry of Tourism and Culture recognized, approved and added to the Festivals of The Gambia in the festival calendar in 2018 and to be promoted by the Gambia Tourism Board.
The festival is meant to showcase among other activities the culture of the region, exhibition, trade fair and Niumi, as one among the first communities in The Gambia to interact with the white people and where colonialism started from, and place where the first Fort was built to fight against slavery but ended up as a colonial empire.
The festival brought together different stakeholders in Barra/Niumi and its sixty-six surrounding communities and also from National Center for Arts and Culture and Gambia Tourism Board.
Among others, Sajal Sambou on behalf of the Gambia Tourism Board made a cash presentation to the organizer of the Niumi Fort Bullen Festival as part of GTBoard’s supports to the festival.
Ousman Kebbeh of Gambia Tourism Board congratulated the organizer for holding the second edition of the festival.
He dilated on the festival and its importance to the Niumi community and as well the GTBoard readiness to support the youth of the region in term of empowerment, job creation and self-employment but quickly urged the festival committee to work on their shortcomings to enable them improve on the festival.
Aba Hydara, Head Promoters of Artistic Creativity and Excellence applauded all their sympathizers and the Gambia Tourism Board for their support. He extended appreciation to Niumi Fort Bullen Festival Goodwill ambassador for her unflinching support since the launching of the festival in 2018.
In extension, he thanked all their distinguished guests home and abroad, Niubara Association in Diaspora, entire people of North Bank Region, different cultural troupes for making the festival a laudable one.
Representative of Niubara Association in Diaspora, the Niumi Fort Bullen Festival Goodwill Ambassador, counselor Kebba Jallow, VDC chairman, President Barra Backway’s Victim Survivor Association, among others made remarks at the opening of the 2nd edition of the festival.
Among other activities marking the festival included trade fair, indoor games, wrestling, different cultural performances, Senegambia Football Peace Tournament, Cultural Beauty Pageant.