EVENT: Triumph for the first Moko Fest

The Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation organized last Sunday the first edition of the "Moko Fest" festival, a pure celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture with the Moko Jumbie, walkers and dancers on stilts wearing their most beautiful African, Afro-Caribbean and Afropunk costumes.

The unprecedented event on the territory attracted a large crowd of curious people in the Emilio Wilson Park throughout the day on Sunday. The festival has started at 8 a.m. with yoga and afro zumba sessions as well as capoeira demonstrations. The opening of the festival itself was held in the early afternoon with a diverse and varied program. Poetry, dance, concert, parade, parade, the children and adults participating in the various shows offered by the festival transmitted their passion to the public, showing great talent. The Soualiga Giants troupe, made up of a hundred stilt walkers, left the spectators dreaming. The art of walking on stilts is already impressive, but the Soualiga Giants are not limited to walking, their dances and stunts are of visual beauty that the public will remember for a long time. The organizers of this magical event, which paid deep tribute to Afro-Caribbean culture and history, expressed their gratitude to all those involved in this project supported, among others, by the governmental institutions of the Netherlands in collaboration with UNESCO Sint Maarten and the Department of Culture in the context of the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage attributes of Sint Maarten and the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Caribbean Area. The partners are too numerous to mention them all, but the Moko Fest is a fine example of solidarity where, when all the players work together in a spirit of cohesion, everything seems possible. Many food stalls allowed participants and visitors to regain energy, they were able to discover or rediscover several typical recipes of Afro-Caribbean and local cuisine. Energy that was quickly spent by attending, for example, one of the musical performances included in the festival program. Building on the success of this first edition, we wish the Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation the opportunity to organize a second Moko Fest, already eagerly awaited by the public. _VX