Lagos carnival 2012: Eko for show!
The Lagos Heritage Week is fast approaching and the Lagos Carnival is the high point of the week long activities. It is scheduled to hold on Easter Monday, 9th April, 2012. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Eko 4 show”. The Carnival will be hosted by The Lagos State Government, and it’s going to feature parade and floats traversing the major street on Lagos Island.
According to the official website, the Lagos State “has a long history of holding carnivals, particularly on Lagos Island, as a result of historical links with the returnees and their descendants from Brazil, West Indies and Sierra Leone in the late 19th century. Traditionally, these have been in the form of street parades”. The Lagos Carnival is a popular international event. It featured exciting dances, mascots and floats. From an art history point of view, the event reinforced what I’ve read about African art and how historically the emphasis was placed on performance.
The carnival parade will begin at Falomo, Ikoyi and culminate in a spectacle at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). This year’s edition will have over 12,000 adults and young people beautifully costumed participating in the parade. To participate, you may sign up with a Carnival Band with which you are familiar; or you can join in the fun on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi where the parade will start from, and walk with the carnival bands to TBS or go directly to TBS.
The organizing committee is providing free transportation from different parts of Lagos State to TBS (a comprehensive list of pick up points will up loaded to the website soon www.lagoscarnival.com or you can look out for flyers).
Entry into TBS is free whilst entrance into the VIP section is strictly by invitation. Security in and around the TBS as well as the parade route is guaranteed.
It is advised that you are comfortably dressed for the occasion as it may be hot and may rain for a few minutes (as it always does) and a camera is considered a requirement to capture the fun forever. If you are on Awolowo road, watch out for the fun spots which will blow your mind!
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