Ipopeng jets off to Taiwan international festival
Dikgalaopeng
Ipopeng Cultural Group, a Sepedi dance traditional group based at Dikgalaopeng Village outside Groblersdal, Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality (EMLM), were invited to take part in this year’s Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival in Taiwan.
The dance group will represent South Africa in a festival that will take place from 6 July to 18 August 2024 in Dong-shan River Chin-shuei Park, Yilan, north- east part of Taiwan, whose four main themes are performance, exhibition, games and cultural exchange.
Since its establishment in 1996, the prestigious international festival has attracted over 10 million people, with 399 participating groups from 98 countries.
The 2024 festival will constitute of four major themes, which are performance, games, exhibition and exchange, in which different programmes and facilities are available for people, especially families to enjoy a happy summer.
Other activities that Ipopeng Cultural Group will enjoy include cultural exchange in which folk groups from different parts of the world get together to make a performance for the public, showing and promoting the folk art and culture of their countries, learn from each other, get to know different culture and make friends on earth through different activities.
They will also enjoy other activities arranged by the festival organization such as Group’s Night, Home Dish of each county, Country Day and experience the culture and life of Taiwan while the local people get to know more about the world without the need to go abroad.
Ipopeng Cultural Group was founded by Mme Selina Nthwaleng Tlaka in 2016 at Dikgalaopneng with an aim to expose Sepedi culture to young people from the ages ten to 35.
Tlaka said she is delighted that the group will participate in one of the biggest cultural festival in the world.
“Preparations for the festival are currently underway and the children are also happy about the trip,” she said.
However, Tlaka indicated that they are still waiting for funders to make their trip a possibility.
“The trip was initially planned for 2020 but it was cancelled amid of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. We then rescheduled to go in 2021 but we failed due to lack of funding. I am confident that we will be able to attend this year,” she said. Tlaka has pleaded with good Samaritans to help fund their trip.
Since its inception, Ipopeng Cultural Group was awarded a number of accolades that included the Sepedi Music Awards (SEMA), South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) and in the Mzansi Traditional and Cultural Music Awards.
