Starting last weekend at the Red Rock Backpackers in Musanze, Greg Bakunzi camp owner launched a Summer camp festival which will be running until the 5th of september the time of the Kwita Izina, the renown annual naming of the gorillas. This festival takes place every weekend starting from Friday afternoon.
The major objective for starting up the weekly summer camp, according to Greg is to bring in more people into the Rwanda’s highlands at the foot of the Virunga Massif by creating an attracting element to pull in more people.
The summer camp festival features exhibitions and celebrating of the rich Rwandan culture through traditional dancing, authentic Rwandan art and crafts, food and drink galore which we hope can be added to the client’s itinerary before or after gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park or perhaps visit Golden Monkeys, with more travel lined up after the fun weekend.
After last weekend’s summer camp, ordinary tourists who joined us are inviting their friends and friends of friends to Red Rock.
At the camp the Rwandan staff and guides showcase the weaving of baskets and how banana beer was brewed, while all neighboring communities locales are invited to participate in the exhibition a good opportunity to earn a few Francs for selling fruits and crafts to the visitors.
Live local music is performed, and the guests are prompted to follow the local tunes and dance the night away, before regular DJs select music which keeps the crowd reportedly on their feet for much of the night.
While interviewing Greg, the propitiator, he said his major motivation is to attract as many tourists as possible in the country, given the fact that the Kwita Izina which normally takes place in June – which is a buys season when the country is having many tourists arrival was shifted to a date in september according to the announcement from the RDB which means tourists arrivals in the Rwanda is going to be small until the end August. Therefore, Greg thought of a regular weekend party or festival, which he hop to expand by word of mouth and through social media the news spread fast. This will keep guests coming in until at the end of August when hundreds of guests will come again for Kwita Izina.