Maiden Volta Traditional Cuisine Festival held in Ho
THE Centre for National Culture, in collaboration the Volta Star Radio of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, on Thursday (August 28) held the maiden Traditional Cuisine Festival in Ho.
The event was on the theme: Unity in diversity – Celebrating the tastes of Volta.
The landmark festival formed part of activities earmarked for the Black Star Experience, a visionary initiative to project the country’s unique cultural identity and foster national pride.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu who graced the occasion, said the Black Star Experience agenda is a strategic vision to position culture at the heart of Ghana’s development.
He said the festival went beyond food as it signified identity, heritage, health, and opportunity.
“Food is a powerful maker of culture; it embodies our history, connects us to our environment, and speaks to our collective memory as a people,” he said.
Mr Gunu said local culinary traditions were not only recipes, but also living testimonies of resilience, creativity, and intergenerational knowledge.
The regional minister said the promotion of indigenous cuisines would definitely lead to healthy living and vigorously help to support local farmers, fishermen, and agribusiness.
“This is an essential step towards strengthening our regional economy while safeguarding our culture,” he maintained.
Mr Gunu hailed the festival as an exceptional opportunity to showcase the diversity of the country’s cuisines, inspire the youth to see value in tradition, and attract tourists to experience the authentic taste of the Volta Region.
It also challenged the populace to think about how best to transform the culinary heritage into sustainable businesses for job creation to boost the local economy, he added.
The Regional Director of the Centre for National Culture, Lydia Nyarko-Ampomah said local cuisines were the heartbeat of the people, as they symbolized resilience, creativity, and a reminder of the blessings nature had bestowed unto the society.
She said through food, communities connected and found unity in diversity, strengthening families, and promoting tourism and economic growth.
Therefore, Mrs Nyarko-Ampomah said, the festival was not merely a feast of flavours, but a call to protect, promote, and pass on the priceless culinary heritage to future generations.
