The Cape Coast Festival is undeniably one of the most celebrated in Ghana. For the inhabitants of the town, it is an opportunity to buy, sell, and make money. I understand the cultural bit of it, where we get an opportunity to sell Oguaa to the rest of the world, and even on the national level, where government officials are invited, our problems are shared, promises are made, and, in most cases, they never even materialize.
So from my point of view, Fetu afahye is a success because a fellow Oguaa citizen who on average sells 2-3 bags of sachet water in a day, but is able to sell 8–10 bags because of the festival.
Without limiting it to “pure water” sellers, the hoteliers, the taxi drivers, and the restaurants all make almost a whole year’s worth of sales in just one week of celebration.
Before I proceed, I would like to give a special mention to the Central Regional Coordinating Council for an incredible job at the Adisadel Park, i.e., the Central Expo. Previous ones have received backlash, but in fairness, the Fetu Afahye edition saw some improvement. A lot of young entreprenuers had the opportunity to showcase their products and made new customers
In all honesty, I want to believe we all go out to celebrate Fetu Afahye with the hope in the back of our minds of seeing Cape Coast on the brighter side.
Though there were a host of activities going on, most of which were positive, one of them caught my attention.
In an attempt by some alcohol companies to market their products, they decided to throw them into the crowd. Without minding who was catching and drinking it.
Right in front of me, I saw kids catching some and drinking. It was impossible to stop them because of the pace at which they caught and drank them.
This is something I advise we put measures in place to prevent from happening again.
All that said, if I am being biased, I think our favorite brother nailed it. Same organizers, same artist, two different shows, all sold out. Your guess is as good as mine. Kofi Kinaata shut down the whole Cape Coast, and even the heavens couldn’t stop rejoicing. Though it rained while he performed, it is still the conversation on most people’s lips.
In conclusion, the 2022 edition of Fetu afahye was for momentum building from the distraction of COViD-19, and the 2023 edition was mouthwatering. See you again next year.
story by: Osei-Gyamfi, Prince.
(A philanthropist & tourism enthusiast)