The Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival is an annual Seven-Day High Profile cultural event of the Benue People packaged by Benue People for Benue People at home and in Diaspora. It is geared towards promoting and showcasing the rich cultural diversity and the tourism potential of the food basket of the nation. The maiden edition of the Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival will feature a
variety of events during the Pre-Cultural Fiesta, Cultural Fiesta and Post-Cultural Fiesta. The Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival is part of activities to commemorate and celebrate the 40 years of existence of Benue State since its creation on 3rd February, 1976. The event is aimed at celebrating the labours of our heroes, past and present. The commemoration will highlight the achievements of Benue State in the community of states in Nigeria. The Pre-Cultural Fiesta activities will entail preparatory events such as Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Drives for the event to key stakeholders in the State such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Information and Orientation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ministry of Youth and Sports and other government parastatals. The Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Drives will also be targeted at high profiled International firms such as the Television Media (NTA, BBC, AIT, Channels, CNN, Silverbird, etc.), the Telecommunication firms (MTN, Globalcom, Airtel, Etisalat, etc) and others such as NGOs, Automobile Companies, the Banking Industry, Nigerian Breweries, Benue Breweries, Dangote Group of Companies, Benue Cement, Mr. Biggs and an array of key government business associates and contractors. At this stage, part of preparatory events will include the setting up of a Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival Villa that will host the museum and grand finale of the Cultural Fiesta. The event Center will be made of available traditional-local materials and will have a coliseum and pavilion huts with thatch roof, named after past and present Benue Leaders who have contributed immensely to the development of the State. A team of media and IT consultants will support the State government to develop and host an interactive website for the Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival. The official website for the event will be www.benueculturalfiesta.org. The Website will serve as a forum where the people at home and in diaspora can register to participate actively in the cultural festival, while showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the Benue people. The Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival will feature a variety of events for the Seven-Day period. To officially flag-off the festival, will be the Benue Cultural Carnival which will take place in the capital city of Makurdi. This event will feature different cultural troupes in motorcades decorated with their traditional attires. Music and dances as well as other cultural displays will be featured during the road walk and shows. The Cultural Carnival which will commence at different and strategic points within Makurdi will culminate in a City wide Rally at the IBB Square with different cultural displays and performances by local and international artist and an official opening of the Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival by His Excellency, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and His Excellency Dr. Samuel Ortom, CON, Executive Governor of Benue State. A Symposium with a central theme on: “The Chronicles of Benue People, Places and the Sounds of our Times” will be hosted at the same venue. The Symposium will feature paper presentations and lectures on the history of the diverse tribes in Benue State, particularly the three major tribes (Tiv, Idoma and Igede). Other days of the Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival will feature a variety of events; Benue Food Fair - an event carefully packaged to showcase the various Benue delicacies passed down from ancestry. This event will also provide a platform to showcase the culinary prowess of the Benue woman through a Cooking Competition. Cultural Fashion show and Arts exhibitions will take center stage bringing to limelight the rich cultural wears of the people of Benue State, while show casing their Cultural Arts and Craft work. Featuring prominently will be the Kwag-Hir, Akata Fishing, Igede Agba, Alekwu and other significant Cultural and Traditional chattels. The Modeling and Pageant Show will provide a platform to showcase the beauty and virtues we possess through runway modeling contest by Well-trained and High-profile models in Benue State. This will unveil the potentials in the young people providing the platform to express themselves and showcase their talents. The Benue Red Carpet Dinner and Award Night will cap the celebrations and festivities for the Benue State Cultural and Tourism Festival. The event will feature varieties such as cultural music, dance, drama and comedy performance by both local and international artist. The mainstream of the event will be the presentation of the Benue Legacy Awards to renowned and illustrious sons and daughters of Benue State, within and in Diaspora, from all walks of life who have positively contributed to the tremendous growth and development of Benue State. The weeklong event will culminate with an Interdenominational Thanksgiving and Cultural Service, appreciating God for the 40 years of existence of Benue State as an independent entity being created in 1976. The service of songs will also feature testimonies; prayers will also be offered for the Leadership of the State and Traditional Rulers for peaceful co-existence.
