Okandombe Paaltjies in Oniipa is the place to be from 21-24 December 2023 as Kalawafresh Entertainment promises to feature local artists, offer traditional cuisine, promote local businesses, and have attendees on their feet to end the year in style.
The organisers say apart from creating a safe entertainment space where enthusiasts can freely enjoy their time with family and friends after an exhausting and lively year, their mission also involves ensuring that entrepreneurs can have the opportunity to market their brands and products.
“This festival aims to mobilise upcoming and established young business owners, and create space where they can network and collaborate to push their endeavours further. We also want to offer our visitors and guests a beautiful experience in the region,” said Elifas Amakali from Kalawafresh.
Established in 2015, Kalawafresh is a brand which does printing on clothes, and has tapped into festival-hosting to grow and celebrate Namibian creatives by giving them a platform to showcase their work.
“We will invite upcoming local artists to keep the show live, and allow them to display their talents for scouting by the already established ones. We also want to allow budding local business persons to come and learn how to market their products, and share with us the knowledge they have in the business industry. There will be local brands for sale,” said the creative, adding that more than 10 artists from around the country have been roped in to entertain the petrons. Said Amakali: “The number of exhibitors per product category for this year will
be limited to allow for maximum sales to make the desired profit. The festival organisers are also expecting better attendance, compared to last time, because a lot of marketing was done. People now know this year’s edition will be far better in terms of organisation, business and entertainment.”
Notable contributors to the festival include Nambili Mhata Legal
Practitioners, who have invested in the idea.
“We would like to be part of the agents in the region to enhance economic activities through such a festival. I particularly decided to contribute to this because I come from there,” Mhata told VIBEZ!
He added that this is also a way to create employment, and expressed the wish that the festival grows to have a positive impact on the community through various means.
Mhata said some people from the community have never left the locality, and they will have an opportunity of seeing top artists and many products on display, thanks to the initiative of people like Amakali. “I want the festival to grow bigger by bringing more top artists. Although it has improved, there is still room for improvement to make it better each time and reach it’s collaborative effort that is possible to attain. I like that the list of artists has improved, and we are lookingforward to that,” stated Amakali, who can’t wait to see the start of the festival.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na