HILTON renews partnership with ALS

To be known as First Friday’s @ The Hilton, the event, which kicks off immediately, is envisaged as a multi-media event incorporating drama, music, short story and poetry. It is intended to be a mature, relaxed, intellectually-stimulating and interactive evening that will promote the THH as a literary tourism venue and add immense value to society through the identification and exposure of diverse literary talents, as well as providing high quality literary entertainment for guests and patrons of the THH.

In a letter of approval to the ALS, Hiltons’ Peter Idoko, Director of Business Development, and Shola Adeyemo, Recreation/Public Relations Manager described the offer as the hotel’s “modest contribution as a socially responsible organization to the development and exposure of writers and artistes in Nigeria”.

In a brief ceremony at the lobby of the hotel, Peter Idoko presented the letter to Victor Anoliefo, Quill Master of the ALS with the presence of Adeyemo and Ken Ike-Okere, ALS Slam Master.

Announcing the partnership to regulars at the last Friday readings at the British Council, Ike-Okere informed that the Hilton venue would be opened with a Slam, the highly popular performance poetry competition organised quarterly by the ALS with participation from literary groups in Niger, Plateau and neighbouring states.

After the first session, subsequent editions of the programme will incorporate a discussion session on contemporary literary issues of the day; hosting of a celebrity guest writer for each month who will read from his/her work and answer questions from the audience; an open mike session during which readings and presentations from the audience will be taken. Sometimes, the sessions may also accommodate special presentations of members’ works as well as promotion of THH events/brands.

Shola Adeyomo, the Recreation/ Public Relations Manager, said, “Hilton is very happy to be associated with the promotion of arts in Nigeria through the collaboration with the Abuja Literary Society”.

According to Victor Anoliefo, the Quill Master, the objective of the First Friday’s @ The Hilton project is to provide cultural and literary entertainment in the FCT at Abuja’s most prestigious venue.

The direct beneficiaries will be guests and patrons of THH and residents of the FCT who will be provided with a unique cultural, musical and literary event each month; talented and creative artistes in the FCT in particular, and Nigeria in general, will be given the opportunity to showcase their works to a diverse audience.

Founded in 1999, the Abuja Literary Society quickly attracted the corps of resident and visiting writers and literary enthusiasts in Nigeria’s nascent and art-starved Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Today, it is the foremost literary NGO in the city and its membership, activities and publications have gone international. Reading sessions are held on First Fridays’ at The Hilton 7pm, Second and Last Fridays’ at The Silverbird Entertainment Centre Abuja at 7pm. While The Abuja Book Club powered by ALS holds Third Fridays’ at Zanzibah Food and Wine, Asokoro at 7 pm.