Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is set to hold the 2018 edition of its Annual Ife Festival of the Arts tagged, “Festival of Food and Identity” next week.
The school management said that this was in line with “in the spirit of revival and resuscitation of the deep religious convergence, heterogeneity and conference which the Ife Civilization represents.” It added that the event aligns with the motto of the 56-year old institution, “for learning and culture.”
In a press release sent to EduCeleb.com on Saturday, the Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju said that the event was being organised in conjunction with the University’s Institute of Cultural Studies.
Mr Olarewaju, said that this year’s edition was designed “to highlight, showcase and celebrate the creativity of the Yoruba and African indigenous traditions in feeding and supporting itself.”
It is billed to hold between Monday 30th July and Saturday 4th August, 2018 on the university’s campus.
He further stated that the 2018 OAU Ife Festival of Food and Identity not only seeks to enshrine the place and memory of the indigenous food ways in the psycho of the youth, but also to reiterate the capability to survive as a people through the adoption and preservation of close and relevant food and material culture.
EduCeleb.com reports that the 2018 festival is conceived to focus on the entire food chain from the earth to the stomach, documenting the processes involved in food production, preparation, preservation and storage, as well as embracing an exhibition of prepared indigenous dishes, ingredients, flavouring, spices, protein sources, delicacies, drinks, crops, fruits, vegetables, etc from various parts of Nigeria, Africa and elsewhere, especially those that are disappearing from the daily menu.
The festival will also showcase performances in the form of traditional and contemporary dances, films and documentaries, theatre, concerts and traditional games related to food and identity.
Other features and highlights are food exhibitions and fair at the festival village; children cuisine; celebrity cooking corner; art and craft zone; art and photo exhibition; mouth and dental care corner, and colloquium.
Among the eminent personalities being expected at the weeklong festival are the Nobel Laureate and Emeritus Professor of Dramatic Arts, Wole Soyinka, who is the Festival Chief Adviser, and the President of the Africa Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who will deliver the keynote address at the festival colloquium.
