Charles Cobbina, the project lead for the Sekondi-Takoradi Christmas City Project, is on a two-week working visit to the United Kingdom to explore opportunities for partnerships with city-based associations and organisations for the project.
Launched in 2020 and at the behest of the Western Region Co-ordinating Council, the Sekondi-Takoradi Christmas City Project aims to make the twin city the preferred destination for Christmas revellers.
The project, which covers 19 December to 2 January, highlights several jaw-dropping events and unique places of interest, including waterfalls, crocodile ponds, forts, museums, and other historical grounds.
The most revered of the projects is the masquerade parade, which assembles over 40 masquerade groups with a display of iconic dance moves to brass band music.
“I will be meeting with some organisations that I’ve already spoken with from Ghana. I will also meet Ghanaian society and government officials. I’m here essentially to sell the project to our brothers and sisters here and look at how it can assume a global dimension,” Cobbina said.
“I will also be exploring the possibility of staging a masquerade parade in one of the cities here in the UK, where we will have some groups coming from Ghana to participate. I will also start a discussion on forming groups here in the UK who will, in the future, also come to Ghana to participate.”
He added: “Top on my agenda will also be to meet representatives of media houses here in the UK, make a strong case for the project and encourage them to attend this year’s edition ultimately to rebroadcast particularly the masquerade parade to its audience.”
2023 edition
In 2022, the project attracted 200,000 new visitors from Ghana and across the world.
Cobbina also said he is hoping to build on that success with the introduction of new and attractive events during this year’s event.
He added that “there will be five masquerade festivals that will be hosted in four different locations, including Takoradi, Effia, Essikado, and Sekondi.
“There are over 60 other events to complement the Masquerade Carnivals. There will be a Ben Brako show on 1 January. Over 15 activities have been pencilled in to mark the fifth anniversary of the Taadi Mall.
“We will have a brass band, an all-metal band competition and some religious events on 31 December and 1 January,” he added.
“There will be the Mayor’s Fireworks and Food Bazaar, the Aqua Makarios Boat Jams and a street carnival.
“We will also host a series of sporting activities and some workshops to be organised by the business community for residents.
“Another innovation we have added is that we will organise a bus ride to historical sites. And this will run for 10 days. I’m not mentioning the sites because it is a surprise and we intend to keep it that way,” Cobbina added.
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