Monday, July 29, 2013

NAI NI WHO: A WEEKEND MASH-UP EXTRAVAGANZA AT CITY PARK…




What a grueling festival it has been! Nai Ni Who (sheng for who is Nairobi) is coming to a season finale of the celebrations of our rich diversity; culture and neighborhoods. But before that; I’m getting way ahead of myself! Here is what happened over the weekend.

The friends of Nai Ni Who; coordinators and volunteers met up with the friends of City Park to help hype the event around Ngara; Highridge and Parklands through dishing out fliers to the community.

Friday 26th July saw the festival begin on a high note at the Sarakasi Dome with an exciting performance by the lovely Iddi Achieng; backed by the Sarakasi Dancers at the Sarakasi Dome from 7pm till late.

Come Saturday morning; and the good God favored us with clear skies and the sunshine was just amazing and perfect for a perfect day. Youth groups; fans; volunteers and friends of Nai Ni Who Festival; began the long parade march from the Sarakasi Dome to the City Park.











The Salvation Army Band was in tow; churning out popular tunes and a number of old classics; evens as song, dance and merriment marked the boisterous parade. Like a ”chuku-chaka” train; the parade; proud like a peacock wound its way around the market; bus stop; estate’s shopping and residential areas. This is the eleventh of 12 such celebrations that were scheduled across the city for 12 weeks.
Along Limuru Road; there was a change of guard as the Aga Khan band took over the lead from the Salvation Army band in a peculiar; yet refreshing way.
The loud parade brought traffic and the neighborhoods to a standstill a sit mad its way into City Park. People came out of their gates; homes and apartments’ balconies to just catch a glimpse and take pictures. The police were of much help and they kept the flow of traffic steady but moving.
City Park once again came to life! Bettina Ng’weno writes; “as a child growing up in Nairobi in the 1940s and 1950s; my father; Hilary Ng’weno, would visit City Park regularly. Part of a gang of children from Muthurwa; Pumwani; Shauri Moyo and Kaloleni; he would walk across town on a Sunday to hear the Police or Army marching Bands play in the bandstand.
The children would then head for the maze; where Kenyans of all walks of life; Africans, Asians, Europeans, the young, the old, in families and couples, would be seen. The children, being regulars at City Park; had figured out how to get to the middle of the maze and out again.
How clever they felt as they watched adults get lost in the maze…”

And that is what this weekend has been for City PARK. It came alive once again with art exhibitions; culture shows; mural paintings; dances; acrobatics and many more performances.
The birds came out chirping; in tune with the sound track of nature. The monkeys and squirrels made the escape into nature even fun.

The older generation wept; dawned with tears after for the first time in over 30 years; a band played at the bandstand. And not just one; but two great bands- the Aga Khan and Salvation Army Bands.

The weekend saw great and fun activities in and out of the park. On Sunday the Wheels of Africa made their way into the park for a bicycle tour of the neighborhoods.
There were bird walks; nature walks and dud walks through the vast and only municipal park with indigenous forest. Later in the evening; people were treated to a new culture of Hinduism religion at the Haveli Temple in Parklands opened its wide doors to the public.



















What’s next for NAI NI WHO? I posed the same question to Joy Mboya; Go down Arts Centre Director and one of those who played a big role in this whole festival; “well, honestly Vincent I don’t know but we do hope that the corporate world and the communities at large will embrace this!”

-stay updated on where the action is happening via facebook: Nai Ni Who; Twitter: @NaiNiWho or visiting-http://www.nainiwho.co.ke/



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How marvellous and dynamic it all looks. Pls folks you have to make this happen every year! Well done to my buddies Upin, Bettina, Ian who did the Friends of City Park proud!!

NAIROBI'Z BLOGAZINE said...

it was my first time working with Bettina too and the friends of city park and they are amazing infact check out her piece on this blog on city park.
i will tell u what Joy mboya of Go down art centre told us as volunteers of the festival that the festival should be alive everyday and if ever we wish to bring it back then she would more that willing support it.