This site has done what it was meant to do I suppose. What we need is an official platform to interact and exchange ideas with the Mimiko govt. Unfortunately the state web site is not geared for that.

In Idanre, Mare Festival takes centrestage
By Andrew Iro Okungbowa

AS the Yuletide festivity gathers momentum in the world over, the stage is now set for Mare Festival Idanre, Ondo State. The festival is a blend of sports, culture and carnival.

Billed to open tomorrow, December 17 and end on Saturday December 19, the cultural feast is organised by the state government (Ministry of Culture and Tourism) in collaboration with Motherland Beckons Organisation as part of efforts to promote the tourism potentials of the state, and also, draw attention to Idanre town, which is famed for its rocky plains, cultural and historical antecedents.

According to Mr. Wanle Akinboboye, who is heading the entire packaging of the three days festivities, Idanre town is the place to be at this time of the year to see the best of Nigeria’s cultural riches and beauty on show.

He informed that a lot of Nigeria musical acts and troupes have been lined up to perform at the event with the opening ceremony promising to be a very colourful and exciting gathering, which expectedly would signpost what people would be treated to in subsequent editions of the festival that is envisaged to be a yearly gathering in the tourism calendar of the state.

Akinboboye informed that the festival, which enjoys the support of the corporate world, is the first ever tropical, eco-tourism, mountain climbing, musical, cultural carnival and educational fiesta in the world.

Prior to it planned opening this week, the festival witnessed several test run, which attracted a lot of following and some world renowned mountaineers with the world famous Di Gilbert from Scotland, the only female climber in the world to have led a climbing expedition up the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, taking part in the test run.

As part of the awareness campaign, Gilbert and her team visited some of the schools in Idanre to drum up support for the festival, especially the rock climbing event, which is novel to the community and the entire state even though the undulating and rocky hills of Idanre has existed for hundreds of years.

Some of the activities slated for the festival include music, dance, mountain-climbing, parachuting, air-gliding, hiking, exploration, and Kamp Africa for children, where they are expected to be taken through some practical lessons on Nigeria culture, art and craft.

Atunda Entertainment Group, which is packaging the festival, is billed to put up a theatrical performance, Odigbose, a dramatic script that eulogises the Nigerian culture and written by Akinboboboye. It depicts the advent of slavery along the West African coastline in the 17th Century.

Another theatrical performance slated for the festival is Ajo. It is a musical passage-of-rites story about a man’s journey through the cultural, social and political changes in Nigeria.

Told mostly through catchy songs and complicated dance sequences, Ajo is pure and unadulterated entertainment. Akinboboboye also writes it, with Yemi Remi, a renowned artiste and director in charge of the two productions.

An aspect of the festival that is sure to be a box office event is what would be a play back of the age long tradition and culture of the people of Idanre as there plans to have on display an elaborate depictions of ancient, traditional weddings, naming ceremonies, a court trial in session alongside pristine and rustic everyday activities such as women heading to the local stream to wash clothes, hunters in search of their prey, children listening to moonlight tales and inhabitants generally going about their business.

There will be some rules in place however and this will involve attendees having no physical or verbal interaction with the actors re-enacting that period. Visitors will simply observe, listen and learn.

The festival would also put Idanre firmly on the tourist map, not only in Nigeria but also across the globe. With the presence of international mountain climbers billed to climb Idanre hills at the fiesta, is a huge success for the organisers.

Part of the excitement of the festival is helicopter ride for fun seeker wishing to have a bird eye of the hill. The ride, which comes with a fee, is expected to span 20 minutes with over 3, 000 feet above the sea level to conquer.

For those adventurous enough to go on rock climbing expect to cover over 658 steps leading to the summit of Ularan Hill of Idanre.

Visitors would also have a feel of the wilderness express, as the organisers have constructed hundreds of large tents to cater for people. Thus is to complement the limited hotel rooms available within the town and its environs.

May I please appeal to all those connected to the Culture and Tourism sectors to work hard and bring greater development and more foreign/local tourists to our Ondo State.

I pray for breakthroughs for all of us in all our endeavours in the New Year. A ku ipalemo Keresimesi.
Peace my people

I don’t understand the border in the bottom image…and the text too.

Which of the two is the official logo? I’m guessing it’s the one without the border…

The “Ise logun ise” tagline is good, but in Yoruba, the meaning is lost to non-yoruba speaking audiences. What about the Ijaws? The tagline does not give an impressive of inclusiveness.

While I do not know the extent of work that went into its creation, it would have been better if there was an audition for the logo design — this is a easy and clever way to get the best effort and involve people in state affairs.

I would suggest the tagline be translated into Ijaw to give the minority group a sense of belonging.

Overall, the logo is good artistically, but can it be done better and made more relevant. Also, I was expecting something that would look more like a crest and more symbolic.