The Lagos Heritage
Week is fast approaching and the Lagos Carnival is the high point of the week
long activities. It is scheduled to hold on Easter Monday, 9th April, 2012. The
theme for this year’s celebration is “Eko 4 show”. The Carnival will be hosted by The Lagos State
Government, and it’s going to feature parade and floats traversing the major
street on Lagos Island.
According to the official website,
the Lagos State “has a long history of holding carnivals, particularly on
Lagos Island, as a result of historical links with the returnees and their
descendants from Brazil, West Indies and Sierra Leone in the late 19th century.
Traditionally, these have been in the form of street parades”. The
Lagos Carnival is a popular international event. It featured exciting
dances, mascots and floats. From an art history point of view, the event
reinforced what I’ve read about African art and how historically the emphasis
was placed on performance.
The
carnival parade will begin at Falomo, Ikoyi and culminate in a spectacle at
Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). This year’s edition will have over 12,000
adults and young people beautifully costumed participating in the
parade. To participate, you may sign up with a Carnival Band with which you
are familiar; or you can join in the fun on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi where the
parade will start from, and walk with the carnival bands to TBS or go directly
to TBS.
The
organizing committee is providing free transportation from different parts of
Lagos State to TBS (a comprehensive list of pick up points will up loaded to
the website soon www.lagoscarnival.com
or you can look out for flyers).
Entry
into TBS is free whilst entrance into the VIP section is strictly by
invitation. Security in and around the TBS as well as the parade route is
guaranteed.
It
is advised that you are comfortably dressed for the occasion as it may be hot
and may rain for a few minutes (as it always does) and a camera is considered a
requirement to capture the fun forever. If you are on Awolowo road, watch
out for the fun spots which will blow your mind!
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