The Kalabari Ethnic Nationality makes history today as it celebrates its annual New Year activities jointly for the second time after centuries of breaking into several communities across Rivers State.
Also, notable is the return of the whole Communities to Elem-Kalabari, their ancestral land, to perform a sacred festival together for the first time as a show of their unity and resolve to return to the front as a people.
The Kalabari New Year Festival that ushers in the blessings of the year 2026, ahead of other ethnic groups in Nigeria started on Thursday with an arts exhibition in Port Harcourt and will be crowned with grand performances by cultural and contemporary groups from across the Kalabari land, where the world is expected to converge and enjoy the wonders and unique abilities of the Kalabari people.
Ibiba Don Pedro, Member of the Board of Trustees of Kalabari Renaissance Foundation and Head of the Media Team, said that the venue for the New Year Festival, Elem-Kalabari, promises to attract tourists and dignitaries across the world because of its serene location, the famous ancestral well with healing powers, the development of the blue economy in the area, among others.
To facilitate a grand celebration, transportation has been provided at cost to the passenger in Abonnema Wharf- Port Harcourt, Bakana, Abonnema for visitors , while houseboats will be available for selected people.
According to a statement from the organisers of the Kalabari New Year Festival, the Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, the Kalabaris are naturally placed where they must rise early to survive, adding that, the prominence of the Kalabari people is annually reinforced with the new year festivals in all Kalabari communities.
According to the statement signed by the Chairman of the organisers, Mr. Harry Awolayeofori Macmorrison, Kalabari, is one of the foremost Ijaw groups that has all it takes to occupy a place on the tourism calendar of Nigeria.
Among dignitaries expected in Elem Kalabari are representative from Rivers and Bayelsa State, leaders of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), and delegates from the US and the UK.
