The 4th edition of the Freedom Festival will be held at Freedom Mixed Etang-Sale-les-Bains from December 20-22. Initiated by Region Meeting and organized in partnership with the island of La Reunion Tourisme (IRT) and the Vanilla Islands, this cultural event is part of celebrations to be held on December 20.
Reunion Island is a land of a thousand faces, a mix that reflects its four centuries of history and the arrival of peoples from the four corners of the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, Madagascar); a cultural and ethnic melting pot that gives the island of La Reunion single destination status: an island where traditions and religions coexist harmoniously, an island where the difference is a source of wealth.
December 20, 1848 marks an historic date in the collective conscious of Reunion – the abolition of slavery on the island of La Reunion. Every year on this day, the population of Reunion vibrates to the rhythm of Maloya – ranked as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO – to celebrate this “Fet ‘Freedom.”
Under the sign of freedom and the recognition of Metis culture, the mixed Freedom Festival aims to bring the shared values of the Reunion Island and Vanilla Islands – respect, tolerance, cultural mix, and better living together are the watchwords of this event.
Mixed freedom is:
• thirty concerts on three stages, with a special evening on Saturday, December 21
• seven exhibitions
• theater and storytelling
• a parade through the streets of Etang-Sale-les-Bains on Sunday, December 22 from 5 pm
• projections of short films about the history of La Reunion
• lectures on the theme of miscegenation
• entertainment and food tastings
• twenty huts to discover the cultural richness of the Vanilla Islands braiding house of tisaneur, vanilla, antiques, fruits and vegetables of yesteryear, confectionery, local products, geraniums
On the occasion of this fourth edition, several guests of honor were invited by the President of the Region, Didier Robert, including the Vanilla Islands (Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte, the Maldives), Mozambique, Zanzibar, Haiti, South Africa and China. On this occasion, twenty artists and Seychellois officials, including the Minister of Tourism and Culture of Seychelles, Alain St.Ange, will be on the island to celebrate freedom in jubilation.
The Vanilla Islands label aims to boost tourism throughout the Indian Ocean region and aims to conquer new markets for partner territories. Through this event on the calendar of the Vanilla Islands, Reunion Island intends to show its willingness to share the cultural wealth of the islands of the Indian Ocean.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- Reunion Island is a land of a thousand faces, a mix that reflects its four centuries of history and the arrival of peoples from the four corners of the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, Madagascar).
- Through this event on the calendar of the Vanilla Islands, Reunion Island intends to show its willingness to share the cultural wealth of the islands of the Indian Ocean.
- Initiated by Region Meeting and organized in partnership with the island of La Reunion Tourisme (IRT) and the Vanilla Islands, this cultural event is part of celebrations to be held on December 20.
