May 20 Update: changed poster & updated the list of performers for both days
The 5th annual Sawa Sawa Festival will be different and better this year. Just like the theme: the Power and Beauty of Women the festival aims at involve the public in a positive way in bid of celebrating femininity across borders. For the lineup Sawa Sawa has booked Congolese maestro Fally Ipupa, Kenyan gospel sensation Daddy Owen and Kenyan poet Wanjiru Mwaura for the Saturday evening. Sauti Sol will headline the Sunday day Family Fun Day concert next to The Villagers, Maia, Camp Mulla and a collective of young upcoming female vocalists of Kenya including Neema, Dela, Fenna, Muthoni the Drummer Queen, Susan of Gogo Simo and Amelina of TPF, who only came together for this occasion. During both days the Sarakasi All Stars (dancers and acrobats) will be at hand to spice up the festival.
Sarakasi Trust “Sarakasi” (Kiswahili for Circus or Acrobatics) was established in late 2001 in response to the need for further development and growth in the cultural and performing arts sector initiated the concept of the Sawa Sawa Festival in 2002 to create a Festival with a Kenyan and African identity appealing to the Kenyan public at large, creating an opportunity to reach out to different communities with different economical back grounds. At the same time, during the festival period, the (performing) arts are promoted through workshops; meet the artist sessions, technical and educational skill sharing workshops and community building (theme) activities.
The week-end concerts, to be staged at the Carnivore Grounds, will feature the ‘main’ concert stage, a (cultural) vending area, food and beverage area, an info market and child activities. The lineup and programming will be (as much as possible) focused on female talent and will be done in such a way that it will cut across audiences of different communities, age, gender, economies and cultures. On Saturday evening the programming will be geared towards the youth and on Sunday day families will be our focus.
As always, much fun, educative topics and activities for everyone throughout the festival will be guaranteed as well as a safe and secure environment. The week preceding the festival will be filled with workshops at the Sarakasi Dome in Ngara on different topics pertaining women.
Gate charges will be as follows:
28th May 2011, 6pm-12am
Entry-1000/= Advance, 1200/= Gate, 2500/=V.I.P
29th May 2011(Family Fun Day)
Entry-500/= (kids below 12years-Free)
Tickets available at
· Tamambo village
· Tamambo Westlands(Mall)
· Tamambo Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens
· Carnivore
· Jacaranda Motors(Shell Lavington)
· Sarakasi Dome Ngara
· Concorde Motors (Shell Hurlingham )
For more information visit www.sarakasi.org
Celebrating femininity indeed yet there are no female headliners Fally Ipupa and Sauti Sol are all male.
Shame for using poor talented young men and women from the slums of Nairobi in the name of Sarakasi trust to enrich yourself and now commercializing the festival wiping out talented young men from the slum whom you used as a stepping stone for your greedy ambition.
Why are you now taking it to the Carnivour? shame to the entire Sarakasi trust team, you are all crooks.
I will be ashamed to attend this festival
Sarakasi claim to support the poor from the slums while in real sense the exploit this talented young people, look at those in the management board, all are living large while the artists live bad life. This is crime against humanity, they should not be allowed to operate in Kenya, fuck the Sarakasi trust
Fuck Sarakasi, Fuck Sawasawa, fuck the entire board, they are crooks they should not be allowed to continue exploiting the poor youths from the slums!!! they are robbers.
Why commercialize arts despite the millions you receive?
had alot of pske for this event, but the way guys are talkin..meen., that aint good at all
@ Pauline @ Kama:
Thanks for your contributions and perspectives. Additionally, just to clarify, this post is as usually published by Nairobi Now, and not by Sarakasi. We have informed them of your comments, and they’ll decide whether to reply publicly. Just one more thing, please try to keep things civil.
What is really happening? can sarakasi please keep us posted, i smell a rat in this.What was is the essence of purchasing the Dome with the millions of money if it can not be a place to organize such events????? or is Sarakasi broke?????? why Carnivore for Gods sake????? at Pauline and Kama mind your language though you are right.
@ Cythnia you are totally right, it will be a male dominated event which is is quite ironic!!!!! it is just a strategy to get the Sawasawa back on its feet.
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck u!!!!!!!
It is unfortunate that one has to resort to the use of extreme profanity to state their point. Ignoring all the ‘f’ words, I would just like to point out to all who are indignant about the ‘all male’ sawa sawa line up, that from the poster, you will notice that there is an all-kenyan, all female collaboration who have come together just for the festival.. i also see Maia and have heard that an a new and upcoming artist Chumba, will be opening for Fally on saturday night. That being said, who said that celebrating femininity was only about celebrating women?? How about men celebrating women for a change? I have no problem with the line up as i feel it is balanecd overall – anything one sided (i.e all female) would just have been boring, and to be honest, so 20th century.
Any comments, Sarakasi?
expect full house fally will rock the house.sawa sawa tell ipupa we want loud sebenes with cristal clear guitar and the atalaku(rapper)must work it.this is matonge music.what time is the arsenal de melodies band walking into the stage?the programme?
Concert will start at 8pm sharp.
Yes Sawa Sawa will ROCKKKKKKK…….Its the high time people understood that femininity is not a bout women-i support you miss Nurani..