Introduction
Africa has a lot of festivals. If you’re looking for the best ways to enjoy the continent’s culture, you’ll want to check out some of these amazing festival experiences:
Kenya
August 1 is Kenya’s Independence Day and is celebrated with a parade and other events throughout the country. In Nairobi, Nyayo Stadium hosts a music festival called Karibu Ya Kenya (Welcome to Kenya).
Senegal
- Festival of the Durbars (April)
- Festival of the Sea (May)
- Festival of the Desert (June)
- Festival of Transhumance (July/August)
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s festivals are based on the seasons. The Zimbabwean New Year is celebrated in September, and it’s a time for families to get together and reflect on what they’re thankful for. This celebration usually involves lots of food, dancing and singing.
The Tobacco Festival takes place in October; it honors farmers who grow tobacco by offering them gifts like cattle or cash prizes.
The Maize Festival takes place around November 1–you might know this holiday as Halloween! It’s when people dress up in costumes and go door-to-door asking for treats like candy or fruit (or sometimes money). If you don’t have any treats to give them, no worries–they’ll just say “Trick or Treat” instead!
Finally we come to Christmas: Zimbabweans celebrate Christmas with lots of decorations including lights strung up around houses so everyone knows when someone is having a party there tonight!
South Africa
South Africa’s Carnival is the largest street party in the world, taking place over a 10-day period. This massive celebration is a time for people from all walks of life to come together and celebrate their culture. It’s also an excellent opportunity for visitors who may be interested in experiencing local traditions firsthand.
Carnival is held every year on the Monday before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), which usually falls in February or March depending on when Easter falls that year. The festivities begin with Jouvert–a pre-dawn parade through neighborhoods where revelers wear costumes made up of feathers, beads and sequins while banging drums and carrying flags emblazoned with symbols like hearts or crosses as they dance along to live music played by brass bands called “jouvétistes” (French for “people who go out early”).
After jouvert comes Marassa–the main event itself! The streets fill up with dancers wearing elaborate costumes while performing traditional dances such as calypso or samba.[2]
Uganda
Festivals in Uganda are famous for their rich culture and diversity. They are also known for their music, dance and artistry. The following are some of the most popular festivals in Uganda:
- Kanyankole Festival
- This festival takes place every year on the first Sunday after Christmas Day (25 December). It usually lasts for three days starting from 26 December to 28 December annually at Namugongo, Mukono District, Uganda. This festival is celebrated by all people who live within Mukono District including Kampala City Council area as well as those coming from other parts of Uganda including Tanzania and Kenya.[1] The main reason why this festival was created was because during those days there were no roads connecting different parts of Mukono District; therefore when they wanted to meet each other they had no choice but do so at Namugongo where they had built churches like St Peter’s Anglican Church,[2] Ntenjeru Catholic Church[3] etcetera….
Zambia
Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Zambia has many festivals that make you dance. Some of these are:
- The National Arts Festival – This festival takes place every year in August and September at Woodlands Stadium near Lusaka City Centre. It features music performances from different artists from all over the world including South Africa as well as local Zambian musicians such as Tom Motha & Friends who performed at this event last year! You can also find out more about this event here .
- The International Jazz Festival – Held annually during July/August each year at different venues throughout Lusaka & Livingstone respectively; this event is great if you love jazz music!
Don’t miss these festivals in Africa.
If you’re planning to visit Africa, don’t miss these festivals. They are not only great for your travel experience but also for the economy.
- Festival of Arts and Culture: This festival is held annually in Nigeria and it features different art forms from all over Nigeria. The festival promotes unity among Nigerians who live in different parts of the country by bringing together people from all over Nigeria during this event. Visitors also get a chance to experience African culture through music and dance performances at this festival!
- Festival of Peace: This festival takes place every year during Easter weekend at Mount Meru Park in Arusha (Tanzania). You’ll find food vendors selling traditional Tanzanian dishes like ugali (a type of cornmeal porridge), chapati breads as well as other delicious dishes such as beef stewed with onions & tomatoes alongside rice & beans cooked together on one plate called Sufuria – it’s delicious! There will also be dancers performing traditional dances such as Masai warrior dances called Engare Naiyombe while drummers play drums called Kudu Ndongo which produce sounds similar to those made when animals walk across dry grassland plains.”
Conclusion
We hope that you’ve enjoyed learning about some of the most popular festivals in Africa. As we mentioned before, there are so many more to explore! If none of these tickle your fancy, then perhaps consider planning a trip around one that does. There’s no shortage of exciting events happening all over this amazing continent every year – and they’re sure not going anywhere anytime soon.
