The Fancy Dress Festival (known locally as Kakamotobi) is a masquerade festival held on Christmas to the first day of January every year by the people of Winneba in the Central region of Ghana. It is a colourful festival that features brass band music,
For the people of Winneba, therefore, the Christmas period is a special one. The masquerade art has been christened “Fancy Dress” by the local people because of the fanciful costume they use. Christmas in Winneba without “fancy dress” is considered a drab occasion.
The general citizens of Winneba show great interest and family members or a whole household could be ardent supporters of one of the four groups.
Before then the syncopated melodies played by the West Indian regimental bands stationed at Cape Coast and Elmina influenced brass band music played by well-trained Ghanaian musicians. As a result, according to Prof Ata Annan Mensah, a world renowned musicologist and native of Winneba, claimed that the Fanti musicians created a local proto-highlife known as ‘adaha’ which subsequently added impetus to the dance forms of the masquerade in Winneba.
This is unquestionably the best masquerade event in the West African region, attracting over 5000 visitors from within and outside of Ghana. The festival’s culmination ushers in the New Year by requiring participating Masquerade groups to parade their magnificent custom-made costumes and dance to their audience in a competitive manner.
TIME: MON, JAN 2. 10AM – 6:30PM
LOCATION: UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA (ADVANCE PARK), WINNEBA