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MORIJA ARTS & CULTURAL
FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN LESOTHO - SEPTEMBER 29th
OCTOBER 2nd, 2005
Washington, D.C.: Venue International
Professionals, Inc. (VIP) is pleased to announce
that the Seventh Annual Morija Arts & Cultural
Festival will be held in Morija, Lesotho from
September 29th through October 2nd, 2005. The
Morija Arts & Cultural Festival provides an
annual showcase for the arts and culture of
Basotho, as well as those of neighboring peoples in
southern Africa. Started in 1999 in order to revive
and strengthen Sotho culture and unity, the
four-day program will be packed with a myriad of
exciting shows and activities depicting the great
diversity of Sesotho culture, from the most
traditional to the most modern. The Morija Arts
& Cultural Festival brings together hundreds of
performers from across southern Africa to celebrate
a common unity in diversity. From the rural
hinterland of Lesotho to the metropolis of
Johannesburg come a wide variety of performers,
both professional and amateur, in music, dance,
praise poetry, and theater. In addition to the
music, dance and other artistic performances there
will be plenty of foods, handicrafts, fashions and
children's activities as well as educational
displays. Cultural groups from the Free State and
Gauteng provinces of South Africa as well as
Zambia, China, India and France have contributed
significantly to the success of previous festivals.
For more information about the Morija Arts &
Cultural Festival please visit their website at
www.morijafest.com
The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival, held at
the small picturesque town of Morija which is
located approximately 45 km south of Maseru,
Lesotho's capital, is intended to bring Basotho
together, promote a positive and progressive sense
of national pride, as well as encourage small
business and tourism in Lesotho. Founded in 1833,
Morija is renowned for the important role it has
played in the history of Lesotho, especially in
literacy, leadership development and creativity. As
a result, Morija is known locally as the
"Well-Spring of Learning" (Selibeng sa Thuto). In
1999 King Letsie III of Lesotho officially
declared, during the inaugural Morija Arts &
Cultural Festival, that henceforth, Morija would
also be known as the "Fountain of Culture". While
in Morija, you can also visit the Morija Museum and
Archives to learn more about the history and
culture of Basotho, take a hike to see dinosaur
footprints, or take a short pony trek through the
scenic mountains. Accommodations will be available
with many Morija families and at various guest
houses, bed and breakfast establishments and
standard hotels throughout Lesotho. For more
information about transportation and lodging
accommodations please visit the Lesotho Tourism
Development Corporation (LTDC) website at
www.ltdc.org.ls
As an aside, Venue International Professionals,
Inc. (VIP) recently participated in a
Familiarization (FAM) Tour of Lesotho during the
month of May 2005 with a particular focus on
learning more about the Morija Arts & Cultural
Festival. As a result, plans are being undertaken
to bring a delegation of church choir directors and
ministers of music to the 2005 event in order to
discuss official invitations to have American
choirs participate in the 2006 event. In addition,
there are ongoing discussions about conducting a
small business trade mission to Lesotho to coincide
with the scheduled 2006 Morija Arts and Cultural
Festival.
The small mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho,
roughly the size of the State of Maryland in the
United States with a population of about 2.1
million, is entirely surrounded by South Africa and
its terrain has been likened to Switzerland.
Lesotho, affectionately known as the "Mountain
Kingdom in the Sky", has one of Africa's most
homogeneous populations, consisting almost
exclusively of Basotho with English and Sesotho as
the official languages. In the 19th century, King
Moshoeshoe I brought together a number of splinter
groups in this mountainous stronghold, giving birth
to the Basotho nation. It was in reality a kingdom
made up of refugees from the fierce tribal wars in
neighboring regions. Through smart military and
diplomatic strategies King Moshoeshoe I managed to
keep his enemies at bay until challenged by the
Boers who had established their own Orange Free
State Republic alongside the kingdom and then
started making territorial claims. War ensued and
fearing the entire loss of the kingdom's territory,
Lesotho became a British Protectorate in 1884 until
it regained its independence on October 4, 1966.
Today, Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with
King Letsie III as the Head of State and real
authority vested in the Prime Minister of the
majority political party. Currently, the Honorable
Pakalitha Mosisili is the Prime Minister (2002)
under the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD).
Lesotho traditionally depended on job
opportunities from South African gold mines while
the remainder of its economy is dependent upon
agriculture which largely consists of subsistence
farming. Lesotho has recently made considerable
gains in expanding its economic base into
manufacturing through its participation in the
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) with a
particular emphasis on the textile and footwear
industry based on duty-free privileges. Lesotho's
single most important economic asset is the $5
billion Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP)
which supplies fresh water to neighboring South
Africa. Tourism is also fast becoming a growing
sector with an emphasis on both domestic and
regional tourism initiatives. With the re-emergence
of the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation
(LTDC) there will be further diversification of
tourism products and services, in particular with
the help of foreign investments. Continuing
privatization provides for encouraging business
opportunities and the travel and tourism industry
is well-positioned to take advantage of this.
Venue International Professionals, Inc. (VIP) is
an African-American owned, full-service travel and
tourism company based in the Washington
Metropolitan Area specializing in travel and
tourism destinations to the Continent of Africa.
For more information about VIP or to discuss travel
and tour arrangements for the upcoming 2005 Morija
Arts & Cultural Festival, please contact Helen
C. Broadus, President of VIP at 1-877-TO-VENUE
[TOLL FREE]; (301) 856-9188
[VOICE]; (301) 868-2218 [FAX];
vipinc@erols.com [E-MAIL]; and also visit
VIP's website at www.venuetravel.com
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