You are invited to Rwanda for the 11th Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023

As the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al 2023 approaches, all eyes turn to Rwanda, the land of a thou­sand hills, cul­tur­al won­ders, and warm hospitality. 

Now in its 11th year, this extraordin­ary fest­iv­al offers a glimpse into the soul of the coun­try; pro­mot­ing cul­tur­al her­it­age, com­munity con­ser­va­tion, and empowerment. 

Wheth­er you are a seasoned trav­el­ler or someone embark­ing on their first adven­ture, the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al 2023 prom­ises an unfor­get­table exper­i­ence that will leave you mes­mer­ised and long­ing for more.

Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023: A celebration of diversity, unity, and harmony

Through a cap­tiv­at­ing array of per­form­ances, work­shops, inter­act­ive ses­sions, cul­tur­al exchange pro­grams, com­munity debates, and tours, attendees will embark on a jour­ney of dis­cov­ery, under­stand­ing, and appre­ci­ation for the cul­tures that make our coun­try so vibrant and fascinating.

The cent­ral theme of the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al 2023 revolves around embra­cing diversity and recog­nising the beauty that lies with­in our dif­fer­ences. The Fest­iv­al aims to cre­ate an envir­on­ment where people can come togeth­er, share their tra­di­tions, and foster a sense of unity and understanding.

Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023: An explosion of colour, sound, and experience

As vis­it­ors step into the fest­iv­al grounds, they will be greeted by an explo­sion of col­ours and sounds from around our community. 

Fea­tur­ing an impress­ive lineup of per­formers, includ­ing musi­cians, dan­cers, and artists, all rep­res­ent­ing dif­fer­ent com­munity groups and per­form­ing tra­di­tion­al folk dances to con­tem­por­ary tra­di­tion­al music, the main stage is a major focal point. 

Get swept up into the rhythmic beats of Rwanda’s tra­di­tion­al drums with daily drum cycle ses­sions con­duc­ted by loc­al artisans.

In addi­tion to the lively per­form­ances, the Fest­iv­al will host work­shops and inter­act­ive ses­sions. These enga­ging activ­it­ies will allow fest­iv­al-goers to act­ively par­ti­cip­ate in and learn about Rwandan cul­ture. Through cook­ing demon­stra­tions fea­tur­ing loc­al cuisines to lan­guage work­shops, attendees can gain new skills and deep­er insights.

Through­out the Fest­iv­al loc­als will exhib­it their works and wares at an arts and crafts bazaar. Vis­it­ors can browse an array of hand­craf­ted items, unique souven­irs, and beau­ti­ful art­works, provid­ing an excel­lent oppor­tun­ity to sup­port loc­al artists and take home last­ing memories.

Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023 programme

The Fest­iv­al kicks off on Fri­day, August 25, with a grand open­ing cere­mony at 1400 (2pm). As the sun sets, the stage will come alive with tra­di­tion­al music and dance, show­cas­ing the vibrant cul­ture of Rwanda. The even­ing con­tin­ues with “Red Rocks Twatar­a­mye”, an excit­ing per­form­ance that reflects the essence of Rwandan traditions.

On Sat­urday, August 26, from 1400 (2pm), the spot­light shines on the com­munity’s tal­en­ted youth with the Vil­lage Tal­ent Show. From music to art per­form­ances, attendees will wit­ness the cre­at­ive power of loc­al youngsters. 

What happened in 2022? ‘10th Rwandan cul­tur­al fest­iv­al opens new com­munity tour­ism body, pro­motes gor­illa pledge’

On Monday, August 28, join the Red Rocks Ini­ti­at­ive Group Tour from 1000 (10am), an insight­ful jour­ney into the heart of loc­al con­ser­va­tion efforts. 

Tues­day, August 29 and Wed­nes­day, August 30 are ded­ic­ated to sus­tain­ab­il­ity and envir­on­ment­al pre­ser­va­tion, with enga­ging dis­cus­sions on com­munity con­ser­va­tion around the Vir­unga trans­bound­ary area. Par­ti­cipants can attend insight­ful debates and later enjoy a group tour to appre­ci­ate the nat­ur­al won­ders of Rwanda. Net­work with oth­ers and enjoy refresh­ing cock­tails at the fest­iv­al grounds in the evening.

You are invited to the Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023

As it marks the 11th year of the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al, the Red Rocks Com­munity Cen­ter invites every­one to be part of a week-long cel­eb­ra­tion of cul­tur­al her­it­age, com­munity con­ser­va­tion, and empower­ment. From mes­mer­ising tra­di­tion­al per­form­ances to immers­ive out­door exper­i­ences, the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al prom­ises you a mem­or­able jour­ney through the heart and soul of Rwanda.

About Red Rocks Initiatives for Sustainable Development

Drip­ping with sus­tain­able tour­ism and com­munity devel­op­ment poten­tial, the Vol­ca­noes Nation­al Park in north­west­ern Rwanda is one of the last hab­it­ats in the world for moun­tain gorillas.

Red Rocks Ini­ti­at­ive for Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment is advoc­at­ing eco­tour­ism and cul­tur­al tour­ism as part of its pro­gram to pro­mote sus­tain­able com­munity devel­op­ment around Vol­ca­noes Nation­al Park.

The non­profit is a spin off from Red Rock Rwanda, which is a social enter­prise that is all about travel & tour­ism that pro­motes sus­tain­ab­il­ity through vari­ous com­munity, cul­tur­al, and envir­on­ment­al programs. 

We believe eco­tour­ism and cul­tur­al tour­ism activ­it­ies can gen­er­ate con­sid­er­able bene­fits for our com­munit­ies, as well as provide invalu­able inter­cul­tur­al and know­ledge exchange bey­ond tra­di­tion­al ‘volun­tour­ism’. 

Red Rocks’ local and global partnerships

Red Rocks Ini­ti­at­ives involves loc­al people in everything it does. In that spir­it, we wish to forge part­ner­ships with like-minded indi­vidu­als and organ­isa­tions from around the world who would like to help us advance our sus­tain­able tour­ism and com­munity devel­op­ment projects. 

We would love to hear from you. Please email info@redrocksinitiative.org

Read more about Red Rocks Rwanda & Red Rocks Ini­ti­at­ives for Sus­tain­able Development

About the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains

Moun­tain gor­il­las are a crit­ic­ally endangered spe­cies that inhab­it the lush forests of the Vir­unga Moun­tains, loc­ated on the bor­ders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Demo­crat­ic Repub­lic of Congo. 

These majest­ic creatures are a major attrac­tion for vis­it­ors to this region, with many com­ing to see them in their nat­ur­al hab­it­at at Vol­ca­noes Nation­al Park in Rwanda. 

Moun­tain gor­il­las are the largest prim­ates in the world and are known for their impress­ive phys­ic­al strength and gentle nature. 

Vis­it­ors can observe the gor­il­las up close dur­ing guided treks, where they can wit­ness their social beha­viour, unique vocal­isa­tions, and com­plex fam­ily structures. 

Rwanda is com­mit­ted to the con­ser­va­tion of the moun­tain gor­il­las, with a por­tion of the rev­en­ue from gor­illa tour­ism going towards their pro­tec­tion and hab­it­at pre­ser­va­tion. Strict reg­u­la­tions ensure the safety of both the gor­il­las and visitors 

As well as oppor­tun­it­ies to wit­ness the endangered moun­tain gor­il­las in their nat­ur­al hab­it­at — an exper­i­ence that leaves a last­ing impres­sion on guests — Red Rocks also offers mem­or­able inter­act­ive exper­i­ences in Rwandan cul­ture and tra­di­tions, includ­ing at its annu­al Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Festival.

Email Red Rocks at info@redrocksinitiative.org