Tsola Be festival 2011: unity in regional diversity will be highlighted

The organization of the Tsola Be festival of the Sainte-Marie Island is in its final phase. 7 artists having national prominence will be featured during this year’s festival. In addition to that, the festival will also see the participation of the “Zafimaniry” of Ambositra, the “Tsaboraha” and various sporting events.

Year after year, the Tsola Be festival of Ste Marie, formerly known as “Whales Festival”, gains prominence and popularity among the local population, and mainly among tourists. For its third edition, from August 26 to 28, the festival will primarily highlight unity compared to regional diversity, will look back to the roots and tradition, and will focus on the interaction between culture and tourism development. In other words, the event will be an important rendezvous for those looking for fun and entertainment, though it is shortened by one day compared to previous editions.

In addition to the cultural and festive activities, the festival will also focus sporting events. Thus, a sailing race over a quite long distance, a half-marathon, motorcycle and scooter competitions on tracks specially prepared for the occasion are planned.

“The goal remains the same”, said Ony Schneider. It simply consists of giving more visibility to the culture that is a vehicle to promote tourism and to attract tourists to visit Sainte-Marie. That goal is clearly to the objective of the World Tourism Day for this year which will be celebrated on September 27 under the theme “Culture and tourism”.