Baring the unforeseeable all is now set for the staging of the 2014
edition of Carniriv: The Port Harcourt carnival, annual flagship
tourism and cultural export project of the Rivers State Government
which is expected to attract over half a million carnival lovers into
Port Harcourt, the bustling capital city of Rivers state.
Scheduled to run from the 12th – 20th December, Carniriv:
arguably the
biggest and oldest carnival brand in Africa, kicks off on Friday with
the debut Miss Carniriv pageant which is designed to crown the
official face of the carnival in a contest that attracted close to a
hundred entries from within and outside the state. A sneak peak of the
profile of some of the finalist indicates that the ladies are
beautiful indeed!

Director General/CEO, Rivers State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA)
Sam Dede (middle), flanked by Stage and Sound Engineer Expert, Eddie
Lawani (right), and Raggae Artist, Ras Kimono, during a media
interaction on Carniriv 2014 at Westown Hotel in Lagos on Wednesday.
In an interview with journalists, Director General and CEO of the
Rivers State Tourism Development Agency, Dr. Sam Dede is optimistic
about the state of preparedness for the carnival: ‘We have pulled out
all the stops to ensure that our guests enjoy every minute spent in
Port Harcourt for Carniriv 2014. We are working assiduously with
security bodies, health officials and the entire hospitality sector to
guaranty safety of lives and utmost satisfaction during the duration
of our carnival.’
Dr. Dede, a seasoned academic and actor, also told journalists that
out of the original thirteen events slated for the carnival only one,
the Kids Carnival, will not hold as planned. He explained that the
outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease earlier in the year led to an
extension in the school calendar, thereby foreclosing the possibility
of hosting the event when school was still in session. He was quick to
point out that the carnival will witness an opening ceremony like no
other on Monday the 15th while the closing ceremony holds on Saturday
20th at the Carnival Village, will be a most befitting climax to the
carnival.
He provides more insight: ‘Every promise we made as far as the
carnival is concerned will be met and we owe this to the support and
exemplary leadership of our Governor, His Excellency, Honourable
Rotimi Amaechi who, for instance, has made it possible for us to
launch our 140 feet state-of-the-art performance stage which is the
biggest of its kind in Africa. As this is his valedictory carnival
outing we are going big so come expecting!’
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