SPIRASI at the Festival of World Cultures 2007

A “fest” Witness Account

Where were you on the 25th and 26th of August 2007? If you have not been at Dun Laoghaire you really missed on a great annual event. I will, anyway, do you a favour, including those who of course attended, by taking you back as we reminisce the colourful day.

The Dun Laogharire world Festival of Cultures is an annual event held on the last weekend of August. This year it started on the 24th at 8pm, just to warm up for the following two great days.

From the Canadian food to the Caribbean dance, from global warming issues to bridal dancing skills. Orchestra to opera, from music of Mali to food from the resort of Bali. There were issues about religion to problems affecting the whole region. Storytelling in the People’s Park to free picture taking in Noah’s Ark. Form the stalls of food to wares carved of wood. From Arctic to Zimbabwe you would find everything you would think of from A to Z.

I was doing storytelling with my friends from Spirasi. I was of course nervous at first, but the atmosphere and the mood of the children and the festival itself would not allow me to be. One thing that amazed me about the children is that when you are telling them a story, you never do it alone; they help you along as if they had heard it before. Later in the afternoon I joined the drumming group (from Spirasi as well) but of course not before going round the whole area watching more acts done by other performers. The following day was even better because most people, including myself, had gained confidence from the first day, so they improved on whatever they were doing.

I in particular enjoyed the drumming session on which I was just an opportunist drummer. When we were marching down the harbour people followed us clapping and dancing along. One who confessed he liked us from the onset the previous day asked to video me and asked for my contact details, thinking that I was a professional drummer, little did he know that I had joined the group only on that day just to make up for their absent members. Another Irish lady made an audacious move and asked me if I was married. (I hope my wife does not see this). Who can deny that I had become a celebrity? At for an hour I enjoyed and experienced what the Beckhams of this world go through, with the exception of gold and silver, though.

For the first time I felt welcome, involved, belonging and part of the Irish family, and for one time I forgot the woes that bewilder me in my life. Yes I might have been adrift in a daydream, but the memories and effects of that reverie will live and be cherished by me.

To me both these days seemed just like minutes, (perhaps the timekeepers up there had left the clocks unattended and joined the revelers in the festival, who knows?) although the festival came to end, there is one thing that will always be with me, I changed the way I perceive things.

Allow me to be frank, previously when I was walking down the streets in the city and local people stared at me, do you really know what I thought was in their minds? “What does this African want here? I was wrong. I now know what would be in their minds. “That Bloke can hit the drums man.”

To my felloe immigrants, sometimes it is just the way we perceive things that we think we are discriminated against. We should utilize the occasions like these to showcase what we can offer to the Irish community have they provided the platform for that. I witnessed it first hand at Dun Loaghaire Festival of Cultures.

I integrated.

By Mbonisi Ncube