'CARNIRIV'… costuming still stronger in lack of native content

One of the core factors that boosts tourism is the creativity in native content. This much appears to be lacking in the dominant displays each year of the cultural event CARNIRIV, which holds in the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt yearly.

From the CARNIRIV 2012, a typical costume that heralds every year event

Largely, the costumes at the CARNIRIV, every year, are derivatives from western fairy tales or adventure themes. The African or host community native content, which the themes often claims is still missing, except for insignificant display of one or two cultural dance segments.

The designers of the costumes for the parades need to do more about infusing native content by researching the characters of whatever history and folk tales involved and visualize the costumes from such themes.
 

And more worrisome, the organisers of a similar event, Calabar Festival 2012  thought it was a step forward to import Brazilian Samba dancers to an event that was already taking an identity of its own. Though there was a need to improve on the identity, but you don’t need Samba flavour to give Calabar Festival the much needed global appeal!