30 May 2022

Ngamiland Food Festival bounced back bigger over the weekend in Maun following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. 

The cultural event that celebrates the rich Botswana culture encompassing food, attire, music and traditional games gathered many revellers at Cresta Rileys Hotel to celebrate its eighth edition.

Traditional Setswana cuisine was served from breakfast with magwinya, menoto, liver and chicken necks followed by lunch with seswaa, bogobe jwa lerotse, tswii, dumplings, oxtail, mokoto, cow head and a Chibuku brew as a refreshment.

The ever so hyper Dr Vom was the star of the day clad in his classic biblical Moses outfit as he propelled everyone to get up from their warm seat and chant the Tsaya Thobane anthem. 

With the cultural fiesta lounging by the Thamalakane River bank, it was easy for revellers to pick twigs from the surroundings and uniformly join Dr Vom ka dithobane.

Mapantsula dance group clad in three quarter pants and chequered jerseys kept the audience entertained with their choreographed pantsula routine while Mashambakodhi traditional ensemble reverberated in Hambukushu dance.

The ever so charismatic Stiger Sola performed his classics Katjire, Ngarange and Kani Ndiri as he evoked the pre-pandemic nostalgia when people would listen to classics on Sundays without stressing about tomorrow.

The legendary guitarist closed the show with Mashita Kozirwa as he magnetically pulled all revellers closer to the stage to take a bow after a fun-filled day.

Giving a keynote address at the festival, Maun Administrative Authority Sub-council deputy chairperson, Petros Tjetjoo stated that the event brought people together to celebrate culture more so that families had undergone a difficult COVID-19 time.

He said such events were aimed at reviving the tourism industry, which had been hard hit by COVID-19.

He advised tourism and hospitality companies to incorporate the cultural aspect into their packages so that when international tourists visit the Okavango Delta they could also visit villages to appreciate Botswana culture too.

Tjetjoo said the event had empowered many Batswana in that the food served were locally sourced in Ngamiland. He commended Cresta Rileys for donating P10 from each ticket to charity.

In an interview, the Cresta sales and marketing manager North Region, Wame Masike stated that the food festival exceeded the organisers expectations considering the fact that it was on a two-year break.

She said it was fitting for them to revive the festival seeing that people had taken the COVID-19 vaccine and infections had gone down.

Masike indicated that they would hope to continue hosting the event in years to come so that it grows in leaps and bound. 

One reveller, Dikabelo Mpiping stated that the cultural festival was a great initiative in that it catered for the whole family to enjoy the different facets of culture. Ends