Confusion over Okavango Music Festival name
Spira Tlhankane | Friday July 6, 2018 12:51
The latter Kebadile Wasenda, also known as Kaybee’s festival is centered on artists from the Okavango area and has been running for the past three years in Shakawe while OKMF is an inaugural annual three-day camping event, celebrating African music in a wild and ancient forest. Both music festivals are charitable events aimed at improving the livelihoods of people in the Ngami and Okavango area.
Kaybee told Arts & Culture in an interview that her partners and fans have been calling her nonstop to understand the situation. “I have been doing Okavango Music Festival since 2015 so it still stands. I don’t have a problem with OKMF people because the objectives are the same and we are all geared towards charity. They are in Ngami, mine is deep in the Okavango,” she said. Kaybee added that her festival is about transforming lives and unleashing hidden talent in the delta. She said they also involve other countries such as Namibia. KB said she was not worried because she has registered the logo under a company called Okava Events. “My festival was established on good foundations, I believe it will go far and this year it’s the 4th annual,” she highlighted.
For her part Dandridge said she was unaware of Kaybee festival when she came up with the idea of OKMF. “I did a thorough research before this and I didn’t find any event of the same name or concept,” she said. Dandridge said their event brings fabulous musicians and bands together from all over Southern Africa alongside circus acts, drumming circles, fire-dancing and theme camps for Botswana residents and visiting tourists to enjoy whilst simultaneously creating a sustainable way of alleviating poverty in the local community, called Tsutsubega 27km from Maun.
“The Tsutsubega community hosts the OKMF annually and in return, receive benefits which improve the livelihoods of the community members and diversifies tourism that Botswana can offer to locals and internationalism,” she said. Dandridge said the festival would be held in the dry season when the floods from Angola surround the islands with crystal clear Okavango waters transforming the area into a watery wonderland. The lineup include The Kickstands from South Africa, Black Mamba Man from Zimbabwe, Kabo Leburu from Botswana and Stiga Sola from Botswana just to mention but a few.