The third edition of the most popular Nigerian in Diaspora Cultural Festival, “Nigerian Cultural Festival /Adire Carnival” was hosted in the historic city of Vienna on the 29th and 30th of June 2018.
The event showcases the richness of Nigeria cultural heritage with a focus on the promotion of the country tourism potentials. It also helps to foster the friendly relationship between Nigeria and Austria.
The event started with the African drums exhibition on Friday, 29th of June at the outside of Welt Museum Vienna, Austria with drum display by a Nigerian drum exponent Mr Santos. This brilliant display caught the attention of passers-by that trooped into the museum to be part of the happenings within the museum.
It was an entertainment of world class drum collections, as hundreds of drums from different African countries were exhibited. Participants were also given the opportunity to touch and beat the drums on the display stand. The drums collector, Mr Nicolas von Jenny explained the origin of the drums, how they were collected and maintained.
The exhibition was officially opened by the Nigerian Ambassador to Austria and Slovak, Her Excellency, Ambassador Vivian Okeke after a welcome address by the director of the Welt Museum, Vienna, Dr Christian Schicklgruber. This was followed by a goodwill message from Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, the Director General of NACCIMA. At the event was His Royal Majesty, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege the Olota of Ota Awori land, Ogun State; the president of NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, “Iyalode of Yoruba land”; Mr Bashorun Muyiwa Oladipo, the Ogun state commissioner of Culture and Tourism; Mrs Yewande Amusan, the Senior Consultant to the Ogun State Governor of Culture and Tourism; Mrs Sally Mbanefo, the Anambra State commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artworks, Culture & Tourism and many other notable guests.
The highlight of the day’s event was the brilliant performance by the German born African drummer Ayantunde Anselm Ramacher who took the audience by surprise with his perfect interpretation of Nigeria drums. The audience impressed with his performance gave him a standing ovation.
This was followed by a brilliant drum display by group of African drummers present at the event. The guest and the audience took to the dancing floor as they could no longer be held to their seats.
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The exhibition was brought to an end by a short vote of thanks made by the moderator, Engr. Oluyemi Ogundele.
The day two event of the Nigerian/Adire Carnival tagged, “Carnival of Peace and Unity” started on Saturday the 30th of June in front of the Nigerian Embassy in the 3rd District of Vienna, Austria with fanfare. The lead trumpeter Mr Richmond Ojobor blew the trumpet and the drummers joined with the beat of the African drums.
The Parade was led by the Nigerian Ambassador to Austria and Slovak, Ambassador Vivian Okeke and her spouse, Chief Okeke side by side with the Royal Father, Oba Prof. Adeyemi Obalanlege, the Olota of Ota, Awori land of Ogun State. Also in the front role are the President of NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, the DG Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, President of Egbe Omo Oduduwa Austria, Aare Olanrewaju Fagbodun and host of others.
The Carnival uniform for the year 2018 was a yellow and lemon green colour combination Adire. The participant at the carnival includes Nigerian communities from other parts of Austria like Salzburg, Graz, Karten and Linz, also guests from Ireland, UK and USA. They were joined by friends of Nigeria from Brazil, Paraguay, Bangladesh and Macedonia.
The Carnival parade route passes through Rennweg Street, Schwarzenberg square and the Vienna ring road in the centre city of Vienna. The parade terminated at Hoffburg in front of the Welt Museum Vienna near the office of the Austrian President and Prime minister.
The second part of the event was the stage show in the Welt Museum which was declared open by the Nigerian Ambassador to Austria, this witness stage performance from Bangladesh cultural group, Macedonia group, the Paraguay group and a brilliant acrobatic show by the Kenya flex group. The stage performance was concluded with a Yoruba cultural dance by the Egbe omo Oduduwa women group followed by a spectacular show of talent by a Yoruba girl, Oreoluwa Are who recited a poem in Yoruba language and counted from 1 to 20 in Yoruba language to the admiration of the audience.
Some distinguished personalities were honoured during the event, they include the current Vice President and adviser of the Egbe omo Oduduwa Vienna, Austria, Mr Felix Adetola; Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, the DG of NACCIMA; The Iyalode of Yoruba Land, Iyalode Alaba Lawson and the Royal Father of the day, Oba Prof. Adeyemi Obalanlege the Olota of Ota Awori land in Ogun State.
The event ended with a short vote of thanks by the President of Egbe omo Oduduwa, Aare Olanrewaju Fagbodun.
