AKWA IBOM AT 30: ORANGE SEPTEMBER

To mark the 30th anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom, the State’s Ministry for Culture and Tourism has launched the #OrangeSeptember campaign.

Orange September is a series of events planned to position the state by showcasing the diverse and enigmatic colours of our collective history, unity in diversity and the depth and range of our indigenous entrepreneurship.

Orange Carnival:
Orange Carnival celebrates freedom, and expression of joy, an extra reason being the transformation process of leaders that have ruled the state.

Orange Carnival is all about celebration, using Orange for its theme, being Akwa Ibom State’s official color. Akwa Ibom people are Christians, and Carnival forms an integral part of the Christian calendar, particularly in Catholic regions, some carnival traditions may date back to pre-Christian times. The ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Bacchanalia may possibly have been absorbed into the Italian Carnival. Carnival celebrations have been in decline since the 1960s.
Carnivals are most popular in the Caribean Islands, the largest and most well-known celebration is held in Trinidad and Tobago. The costumes, dances and pageantry grew with each passing year, with the participants donning costumes from the cultural and ethnic variety on the island. After Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution, Carnival's religious overture was suppressed. The events remained, albeit and frowned upon by the state.

Costumes:
Costumes pass messages that stick to the mind. The cultural heritage of different tribes will be showcased through the costume designs.
The costumes worn will also be related to a profession- e.g. – groups dressed in attires related to professions like Doctors, Lawyers, and/or Engineers. The feeling of this Carnival is the sharp criticism, the funny play on words and the imagination in the costumes, more than the glamorous dressings.

According to the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon. Victor Antai , “we are set to colour Nigeria and the World at large Orange and let them know that we are a great people with a unique cultural heritage. Akwa Ibom’s 30th anniversary is one in a lifetime and must be celebrated in style. Collectively, as Nigeria’s highest oil and gas producing State, we are celebrating our optimistic, sociable, hospitable, adventurous and industrious nature…Amazing Akwa Ibom, THIS IS WHO WE ARE!”

Source:
http://orangecarnival.blogspot.com/2012/08/why-orange-carnival-for-akwa-ibom.html?m=1