Main events of the Festival

Opening Ceremony
Each year, National committee responsible for the organisation of the festival Creole designates a district for the opening ceremony.
The idea is to decentralise the Festival and to bring it closer to the people on our three main islands: Mahé. Praslin, La Digue. Some districts continually express the wish of hosting the event. An organizing committee is set up in the chosen district. The content of the ceremony varies depending on the space available, and the other characteristics. The ceremony starts at 6p.m and is divided in two parts: the official ceremony – this is the first part of the opening of the Festival with ceremonies and official speeches. The street party: this is when the Festival really start with a variety of activities: shows, kreol disco, tasting of Kreol dishes, dances, dominoes, Kreol ambiance in homes etc, the party goes on till morning.

Young Artist
A painting competition opened to all youths between four and twenty one year old. It is a regional and International Competition opened to all young Kreolophones around the world. The main objective of the activity is to develop the sense of sensibility and creativity in young people while at the same time giving them the opportunity to appreciate the values and richness of the Kreol culture. The paintings should reflect the beauty and spontaneity of the Kreol language. An exhibition of the submitted paintings is organising at the National Cultural Centre during the Festival.

Quiz
The kreol Festival also process a series of academic activities. The quiz is one of those activities. The quiz is opened to all school children. The main objective of the activity is to educate on rich values of the Kreol language. The competition offers the children the occasion to discover, understand and appreciate their culture. It takes place in two different stages:
1. The heats
2. The Finals

Public Speaking
The competition is opened to all young Seychellois aged between fifteen and thirty, including District Youth Club members. To participate, participant must form teams of four, and choose a theme for their speech. The aim of the competition is to give young people the opportunity to carry out research in Kreol and on the Kreol language. The competition also permits them to master, and discover the beauty of our language.

‘Dimans Kreol bor Lanmer’
Dimans Kreo bor lanmer takes place in a tombola atmosphere on the seaside and in the sea between the shore and the reef. This activity attracts a large crowd between 10a.m and 6p.m the programme consists of the Kreol music, traditional games, water sports, pirogue and raft race, coconut tree climbing competition etc. During the day, one can appreciate and buy Kreol product and taste typical kreol dishes and drinks.

‘Lakadans’
lakadans, one of the greatest musical shows of the Kreol Festival, is an annual rendez-vous featuring the best known from Seychelles and the countries in the region who never fail to satisfy the large and enthusiastic crowd who has turned the event into its own traditional rendez-vous ends well past midnight, offers a night of sega with a touch of mouyta-mouge and moutya-maloge.

‘Konferans Lengwistik’
Once a year, during the Kreol Festival writers and linguists meet at Lenstiti Kreol and reflect on the role, place and development of the Kreol as a language used by eighteen million readers and writers in the world. Each year, the Komite Lalang kreol chooses a theme for the Kolok. After the discussions, recommendations are made concerning the Kreol language.

‘Animasyon dan lavil’
Musicians, singers, actors, story tellers….. From the Seychelles and elsewhere offer live entertainment in certain parts of Victoria during the Festival. Street shows are staged between and 7p.m on week days, and 10a.m to 4p.m during weekends. They contribute greatly to the festive atmosphere, which reigns in Victoria during this period, entertaining locals and tourists alike. The artists propose a hundred percent Kreol repertoire.

‘Kreolisimo’
Amusical show with the participation of singers and musicians from the School of Music and National College of the Arts. The show brings back old Seychellois melodies and songs. The artists perform either solo, trios or groups, accompanied by instruments taught by the School of Music: the guitar, the violin, the drums, the tam-tam, the piano and the copper instruments. The show is completely differentfrom the Lakadans, which takes place in the Stad Lanmizik in Victoria. Kreolisimo is the ideal occasion for the School of Music to pay tribute to Seychellois music stars and veterans.

‘Moman Kreativite’
It is an improvised of the Kreol Festival to attract youths in all its activities. Sware kreativite is a variety show featuring school children from all schools on Mahé, Prsalin, La Digue and Silhouette. The show gives the young generation the opportunity to demonstrate their talents in different forms of arts. It is also an occasion to discover new artistic talents.

‘Fon lanmal’
Fon Lanmal is a fashion show which permits young Seychellois designers to present their latest creations. The clothes and accessories are often produced from local raw material. However, designers may import other materials of Kreol character. They can also fancy fashion in order to add more colour to the show. Whereas the young Seychellois designers participation is of a competitive nature, designers from other Indian Ocean countries who are invited to take part, do so solely for the show.

‘Bal Asosye’
As its name suggests, the invited guests themselves contribute financially towards the hosting of this traditional dance. The dance starts at 8p.m and lasts until morning. A Kanmtole band provides and banana chips, moutay (a rice and sugar delicacy), chili cakes and black puddings accompanied by alcoholic drinks. At midnight, a soup is served to awaken sleepy dancers and to provide them with the necessary energy to dance till morning. In the early hours of the morning before the end of the ball, they have breakfast inclusive of tea, coffee, Creole cakes and paw paw jam. The musicians announce they day break and the host offers all the remaining drinks to the dancers. This moment is called ‘larg dilo’, and it is followed by the night’s last dance, the Krayon, performed a la queue le-le.