{"id":82877,"date":"2025-07-28T19:29:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta"},"modified":"2025-07-28T19:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:38:09","slug":"soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","title":{"rendered":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jamboree scheduled to take place this Saturday, 26th July 2025.<\/b><\/p>\n

According to Malang Fatty, Chief Organiser of the Soma Trans Gambia Festival (SOTRAFEST), the event is a community-based cultural celebration typically held in Soma, a key town in The Gambia\u2019s Lower River Region. It is designed to celebrate and promote the diverse cultural heritage, unity, and social cohesion of all the people living in Soma and its surroundings, especially those who are part of the Trans Gambia corridor.<\/p>\n

The theme for this year\u2019s event is Promoting Peace, Tolerance and Intercultural Dialogue. Mr. Fatty, a native of Soma, told this reporter that the festival\u2019s key elements include cultural showcases of traditional music and dance performances from various ethnic groups such as Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Jola, among others. Folk storytelling, drumming, and masquerade displays such as the Kankurang will also feature, along with local art, fashion, and craft exhibitions.<\/p>\n

Community participation is central to the festival, with youth groups, women\u2019s groups, cultural associations, and schools taking part in competitions, performances, and educational events. Diaspora Gambians also attend and contribute to the event as a way of reconnecting with their roots.<\/p>\n

Mr. Malang Fatty further stated that the cultural jamboree will bring many benefits to the country, especially for the economy and tourism sector. It boosts the local economy through trade fairs, food vendors, and tourism-related activities. The festival also aims to encourage domestic and regional tourism within The Gambia and Senegal, while promoting the Trans Gambia connection a reference to Soma\u2019s role as a transit and cultural link between northern and southern Gambia, and between The Gambia and Senegal.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jamboree scheduled to take place this Saturday, 26th July 2025. According to Malang Fatty, Chief Organiser of the Soma Trans Gambia Festival (SOTRAFEST), the event is a community-based cultural celebration typically held in Soma, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-82877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nSOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\"},\"wordCount\":308,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"culture and art\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\",\"name\":\"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA - Gambia","description":"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA","og_description":"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA","datePublished":"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta"},"wordCount":308,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","culture and art"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta","name":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-28T19:29:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-28T19:38:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Residents of Soma in the Lower River Region and its surroundings are gearing up for an unforgettable cultural jambore ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/07\/sm_1753718837.27137.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/soma-gears-up-for-historic-cultural-fiesta#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SOMA GEARS UP FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL FIESTA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}