Latest news with #culturalfestival
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Nigeria's Ojude Oba festival: Culture and colour come out in praise of a king
Thousands gathered on Sunday in an ancient town in south-west Nigeria for a spectacular display of culture, colour and Ojude Oba festival in Ijebu-Ode, brought together locals and visitors to pay homage to the Awujale - the traditional ruler of the Ijebu union of drummers, musicians and dancers coupled with a fashion parade told a tale of people deeply connected to their Oba - a Yoruba phrase meaning "the kings forecourt" - began over two centuries for the third day after Eid, this was originally a modest gathering of the Muslim faithful, thanking the king for allowing them to practise their religion freely. But it has grown to symbolise pride, unity and identity among all the Ijebu people regardless of religion. The women were elegantly turned-out in colourful traditional dresses, known here as iro and buba, along with the gele, or head wrap. Their outfits were made from aso-oke, a locally sourced fabric woven by the Yoruba people. The sunglasses and hand fans meant to provide respite for the blistering sun were must-have accessories, complementing the looks. Dressed in traditional Yoruba agbada, the men agree months ahead on what outfits, colour and accessories to use for the festival. Each year, they tweak the style and colour and display. Accessories include matching caps, beads and shoes. Regardless of social status, the people are classified into age groups known as regbe-regbe, with hundreds belonging to each one. They are aimed at fostering unity among the locals. The horses were adorned in colourful ornaments of gold and silver. Their riders displayed their prowess and the strength of their horses circling the arena to thunderous applause from spectators. Shots from locally made guns sent white smoke into the air, signalling the arrival of each of the traditional warrior family, known as Balogun or protected the Ijebu kingdom from external aggression at one time. The flamboyant parade of culture provides an economic boost to the area as dress makers, weavers, shoe makers, jewellers and others are contracted to make the desired outfits and matching reporting by Ayo Bello and Kyla Herrmannsen You may also be interested in: Nigeria's Egungun festival: Colour, culture and communityNigeria's spectacular horse parade closing RamadanNigerians take to the streets for Calabar Carnival Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thousands flock to NYC's famed Puerto Rican Day Parade: ‘It's beautiful'
The Puerto Rican Day Parade drew huge crowds to Manhattan on Sunday, with revelers putting their pride on boisterous display in what organizers called the largest cultural festival in the country. Bomba music blasted along the Fifth Avenue parade route throughout the day as the sun beat down and everybody in sight was all smiles in a sea of red, white and blue clothing. 'Everybody's having a good time. When we represent Puerto Rico, we represent their heart,' said Chris Santiago, 23, of The Bronx, who has been to the event every year since he was a child. 'I'm celebrating the way Puerto Ricans are celebrating: having a good time, drinking too much alcohol and just having fun and representing Puerto Rico,' he said. 'Everybody knows if you're Puerto Rican, you already know how we get down.' Santiago wasn't wrong. The party was pumping from Midtown through the Upper East Side with attendees including Puerto Rican super rapper Bad Bunny. Dancing pervaded among the young and old in what 30-year-old Destiny Napoleoni called 'beautiful. 'You see everybody out here. We're representing ourselves, our history, all of that. But this is us,' she said. 'We get to sit here and represent ourselves, love ourselves regardless no matter what race. But today it's all of us out here, all one, together, united.' Sunday's parade was the 68th annual event. It wasn't clear how many people turned out for this year's parade, but organizers had predicted more than 1 million attendees and participants. Among them was 35-year-old Lisa Santiago, a Lower East Side native who previously attended the parade with her father every year. She celebrated Sunday for the first time without him after he recently passed away. 'We would just kind of celebrate here, listen to the music, dance, pass the rum, the Bacardi,' said Santiago, who was wearing a baseball jersey and gold Yankees pendant that belonged to her dad — saying she felt like his spirit was dancing alongside her. She said she had mixed emotions but believes that her dad was with her in spirit. 'It's a lot. To be honest, a little bit of sadness with so much joy. He is [here]. He definitely is. Believe me, he is. Every single time I wave the flag,' she said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gan Siow Huang apologises over handshaking incident at Cantonese cultural festival
SINGAPORE – Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang has apologised following a handshaking incident. A video that recently made its rounds on the internet shows her getting out of a car and being greeted by eight men, including one wearing a red shirt. She shakes the hand of one man while being greeted by the others. The man in the red shirt then helps her to close the car door before extending his hands for a handshake. But Ms Gan shakes the hand of another man she was being introduced to before shaking the hand of the man in the red shirt and those of the others. Speaking to The Straits Times on June 8, Ms Gan, who is the MP for Marymount SMC, said the incident happened on May 17. She was attending the inaugural Peck San Theng Cultural Festival at Peck San Theng in Bishan. The Cantonese cultural festival was organised by Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, a 155-year-old cultural institution managed by 16 Cantonese clan associations. Ms Gan said it was her first visit to Peck San Theng, and she was overwhelmed by the group that went to greet her. 'When I got out of the car, I was trying to identify the host of Peck San Theng and shake hands with the host first,' she said. 'I was also a little overwhelmed by the big group that received me when I got out of my car. I sincerely apologise to the man in the red shirt for the delay in shaking hands with him.' The video has been making the rounds on social media, with one post on TikTok garnering more than 185,000 views just a day after it was posted on June 7. Many netizens had commented that they felt Ms Gan's actions were arrogant and disrespectful. Ms Gan said she was thankful for the invite to the festival and the warm welcome, and that she has requested the organiser to convey her apologies to the man in the red shirt as she is currently overseas. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
King Charles meets The OC star Ben McKenzie at cultural festival in east London (and the actor can't resist plugging his new book!)
King Charles braved the rain in east London as he visited a creative cultural festival on Thursday, where he met Hollywood actor Ben McKenzie. The royal, 76, travelled to Old Spitalfields Market, for the city's first ever SXSW festival where businesses and individuals involved in music, technology, screen and culture come together. Charles attempted to keep himself dry in the typical British wet weather by holding up a large brolly as he strolled through the streets of Shoreditch. As he arrived, the monarch beamed as he met with Karen Gibson of The Kingdom Choir - the same group who sang at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 's wedding in 2018. The event originated in Texas but has evolved into a broader festival encompassing some of the key figures in the creative arts and technology industries. The king looked typically stylish and dapper as he stepped out in a navy pinstripe suit paired with a crisp white shirt, a blue tie and highly polished black shoes. Charles greeted and shook hands with American actor Ben McKenzie, who handed the king his book, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. The OC star - who was sporting a beige suit with a light blue shirt - and Charles beamed as they chatted to each other inside the venue. The king appeared to be in high spirits as he made his way around the SXSW festival, which thousands of people have visited over the past week. Charles took a look at an immersive art installation, centred around sustainability, a subject the king has been passionate about since his early twenties. He first spoke about the dangerous effects of plastic pollution on the environment when he was 21 years old in 1970. In 2023, he famously said that the 'world does not belong to us' at Cop28 in Dubai, adding that his grandchildren, Prince Louis, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie would be living with the effects of our warming planet. The exhibit was made by a London artist named Damien Roach who called the design Grounding and it uses AI to depict landscape images and show the world's evolution. The star-studded event is due to have appearances from Idris Elba, Katherine Ryan, Erykah Badu, Alice Glass, and Sophie Turner over the week. The king looked typically stylish and dapper as he stepped out in a navy pinstripe suit paired with a crisp white shirt, a blue tie and highly polished black shoes Charles greeted small stall holders as he looked around an antiques stand selling old watches and an ice cream cart. This comes as the monarch was seen smiling and waving at royal fans as he made his way to church in Sandringham on Sunday. Charles was being driven to St Mary Magdalene Church for the Sunday morning service when he made the warm gesture. Pictured in the backseat of a blue vehicle, Charles, who is often accompanied at church by Queen Camilla, 77, appeared to be attending the service alone. The King looked typically smart in a suit and tie as he waved and beamed at those gathered nearby. The royal couple last week visited Ottawa, Canada, where Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer in February of last year, addressed the country's parliament. In the speech, delivered from a throne made of wood from a Windsor oak, the King declared the nation 'strong and free'. Charles, who was introduced to Parliament as The King of Canada, spoke of his 'deep pride and pleasure' at witnessing 'Canadians coming together in a renewed sense of national pride, unity, and hope'. Charles's appearance this morning comes after The Mail on Sunday reported that Prince Harry, 40, sought advice from Princess Diana's brother about changing his family name to Spencer. Sources said the Duke of Sussex actively explored ways to assume his mother's surname – a move that would have involved ditching Mountbatten-Windsor, used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. It is understood he discussed the issue with Earl Spencer – whose family seat is Althorp in Northamptonshire – during a rare visit to Britain, but was told that the legal hurdles were insurmountable. 'They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,' said a friend of Harry. Nevertheless, the fact that he consulted the Earl over the issue – a proposal that would dismay his brother and father – is a vivid expression of the toxic rift with his family. Mountbatten-Windsor is the surname available to descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. It combines the Royal Family's name of Windsor and the Duke of Edinburgh's adopted surname. On their birth certificates, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children are Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Royal author Tom Bower has claimed that 'Meghan decided her real object in life was to be Diana'. If the name change had succeeded, Meghan's daughter, who is believed to have met the King only once, would have become Lilibet Diana Spencer, a more fulsome tribute to Harry's late mother. The move would be particularly hurtful to King Charles, who cherishes the Mountbatten name just as his father did.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Everything is translation' — 13th Book Arsenal festival in Kyiv to bridge gaps between language and war
The 13th Book Arsenal festival, one of Ukraine's premier interdisciplinary cultural events attracting voices from across the country and around the globe, will take place in Kyiv from May 29 to June 1. Over the course of four days, the festival offers a number of discussion panels, book presentations, public interviews, and even some film and musical performances that all relate to the theme of this year's festival. This year's program is curated by American historian Marci Shore and Ukrainian journalist Oksana Forostyna, who together have shaped the events of the festival around the theme 'Everything is Translation.' The theme invites both participants and attendees to explore the untranslatable — and to consider what the gaps in language reveal about the invisible boundaries between cultures, perspectives, and human experience, particularly in times of war. Each year, the festival's curators choose a theme that reflects the cultural climate. Last year's Book Arsenal, the first to take place since the start of the full-scale war, was centered around the theme 'Life on the Edge.' In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 theme was 'Optimistis-Skeptics.' 'One of the most important tasks for the festival's team now is to create the safest and most inclusive festival space possible,' Yuliia Kozlovets, the director of Book Arsenal, told the Kyiv Independent. 'The theme of war is a cross-cutting one, when stands of military and volunteer initiatives are an organic part of the festival space. Because this is our Ukrainian contemporary culture, and this is our life today.' For this year's festival, the Kyiv Independent joins Book Arsenal as an official media partner, further underscoring its commitment to fostering critical dialogue and elevating Ukrainian voices on the world stage. Several of the Kyiv Independent's team members — editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko, chief executive officer Daryna Shevchenko, War Crimes Investigation Unit reporter Danylo Mokryk, and culture reporter Kate Tsurkan — will take part in panel discussions at this year's Book Arsenal festival. The full schedule for this year's Book Arsenal is available on the festival's website. While events featuring international speakers on the main stage will be held in English, most of the program will be conducted in Ukrainian. However, several Ukrainian publishers — including Ukraїner, Projector, Rodovid, IST Publishing, and #knygolove — will offer a selection of their books in English translation for purchase. Mystetskyi Arsenal's art books, which highlight Ukraine's artistic heritage, showcase prominent contemporary artists, and document experimental projects on key cultural movements, will also be available in bilingual Ukrainian-English editions. The official opening of this year's Book Arsenal festival is scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 29, but attendees can begin to enter the premises of Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv's National Art and Culture Museum Complex, from 4 p.m. Tickets for the festival can be purchased online or at the ticket counter at Mystetskyi Arsenal – either 200 hryvnias ($5) for a one-day ticket of 500 hryvnias ($12) for all four days of the festival. (in English unless otherwise stated): Panel discussion 'Everything is Translation' featuring Ukrainian poets Iya Kiva and Ostap Slyvynsky, and Polish poet ariel rosé, moderated by Swedish literary critic Carl Henrik Fredriksson. Taking place at 6 p.m. on May 29, the conversation will explore how translation can be used as a tool against imperialism, particularly in times of war. French journalists Doan Bui and Emmanuel Carrère will join several Ukrainian colleagues for a unique live performance at 8 p.m. on May 29 — a staged retelling of powerful wartime journalism from local and international reporters, photographers, and artists. On May 30, Danylo Mokryk from the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit will speak on the panel 'Reportage as Investigation: A Conversation on the Practice of Long-Form Reporting,' alongside Magdalena Sodomkova. Moderated by Tetiana Pushnova, the event is organized in partnership with the Czech Centre in Kyiv and will begin at 2:30 p.m. The Kyiv Independent's editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko and culture reporter Kate Tsurkan will join Ukrainian author Myroslav Laiuk in the panel discussion 'War of Narratives. Do We Have Anything to Counter Russian Influence on the Vision of This War Abroad?' Moderated by Julia Tymoshenko, the event will take place in Ukrainian on May 30 at 6 p.m. The Kyiv Independent's chief executive officer Daryna Shevchenko will moderate a panel titled 'The Ukrainian Narrative: A Strategic Script. How to Speak Effectively About Ukraine Abroad?' Scheduled at 7 p.m. on May 30, the discussion will feature Viktoriia Narizhna, Vira Kuryko, Halyna Skipalska, and Olha Kari, and is co-organized by the Kyiv Independent. On June 1 at 3 p.m., British journalist Peter Pomerantsev will discuss his new book 'How to Win the Information War?' in conversation with Olga Rudenko. Founder of Spravdi Liubov Tsybulska will also speak with American journalist Simon Shuster on the topic 'How a book can change the attitude toward Ukraine on the world stage' on June 1 at 5 p.m. Read also: Russia killed Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina — but not her words or quest for justice We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. 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