Winneba Celebrates Fancy Dress Festival

The Chiefs and people of Winneba in the Central Region have marked the 2018 edition of the annual Fancy Dress Festival amidst pomp and pageantry.

The colourful event, which attracted tourists and well-wishers from all walks of life, including the Diaspora, marked the sixty-year old masquerading heritage of the people of Simpa.

Member of Parliament for the Effutu Constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, underscored the importance of the festival towards enhancing the tourism potential of the area and gave an assurance of his commitment to support in initiatives to attract more tourists to the area.

According to him, the Fancy Dress Festival is what makes Winneba a unique area in the whole country since it is the only town that celebrates a festival on a new year with the potential to attract investment.

“This is what makes Winneba a unique place. The whole of the country, it is only Winneba that on the first day of the New Year, we celebrate a festival like this. It is our desire to see this festival become a major one towards attracting tourism and investment” he said.

He decried the many problems that have bedeviled the celebration of the festival over the years and called for unity among the people to advance the development of the area.

The festival, which is celebrated on January 1, each year, is aimed at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the area and bringing the people together for development of the area.

The 2018 edition coincided with the 60th anniversary of the fiesta and was also used to raise funds to support the developmental needs of the area.

Five masquerade groups, namely Red Cross, Egyah, Nobles, Tumus and Royals participated in the competition, which covered match pass, slow dance, ‘atwum’ and highlife dances.

The Winneba Development Association presented awards to some distinguished individuals for their immense contributions towards the sustenance of the festival.

The festival was powered by Nice Media Ltd with support from Kasapreko.

By: Christian Kpesese/ thePublisher