Bole Festival set for August 3

All is now set for this year’s Bole Festival in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This year’s festival, themed Our taste, Our Culture, is slated to hold on August 3, 2019 and is expected to be bigger and better.

The food feast is currently the biggest in the south of Nigeria attracting thousands of food lovers from all over the country. With the sole purpose of celebrating the rich culinary heritage of the Niger Delta with emphasis on the various creative ways people prepare Bole (roasted plantain) and roasted fish, which happens to be the most popular street food in the area.

Bole, a street food made from plantain, is usually served in different ways depending on the part of the country you find yourself. In places like Port Harcourt, Yenogoa and most cities in the south, it is often served with pepper sauce, roasted fish, with yam or potato by the side, while in Akwa Ibom you can have it served with roasted chicken and a special sauce.

There are usually a variety of food exhibitors showcasing and selling diverse display of Bole (plantain) and fish. And the festival is usually marked by side attractions such as, music performances, comedy, food competitions, indoors and outdoor games with prices to be won and fun and game activities for kids.

Since the first edition of Bole Festival in 2016, organisers of this feast have offered free vendor space as a means to empower local street food sellers, there by, giving them opportunity to showcase their creativity with the bole, gain clients and increase monthly sales by over 200 per cent on the day of the festival.

The yearly event, which started in 2016, with only 300 people in attendance and two local street food sellers, has witnessed tremendous growth in the past two years. In 2017, there were over 2,000 attendees and 35 vendors. By 2018, over 8,000 people were in attendance with 80 vendors and they even gained sponsorship from big brands. The festival has also encouraged and built a strong and interactive online community for food lovers.