Last Saturday, April 14th, ATTA, the association
I work with, hosted their biannual “Kermesse;”
roughly translated, it’s a fair.
Visitors came from far and wide, and overall, the event was a huge
success. Fair games and a fashion show
were the highlights of the day for me, while the huge tombala (raffle) for bikes and cell phones, among other prizes,
were what young Toussians looked forward to the most.
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| President of ATTA |
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| ATTA apprentices |
The work preparing for the Kermesse started many weeks
before the event. Tickets had to be sold
in advance for chances for the raffle, so we created booklets of twenty tickets
to sell. Each chance was sold at 250 cfa
(roughly 50 cents), and we sold over a fifteen hundred! Then, the market day before the Kermesse, we
played music and periodically advertised the event. Having the three bikes to be raffled off
really got market-goers excited! Of
course, the apprentice tailors had the most work to do. With Easter falling the week before our fair,
the young adults and the trainers worked the night shift for up to three weeks
before the event, trying to get all the outfits done in time! For Burkinabe tailors, there is a definitely
a seasonality to their business, and I don’t envy their workload before big
holidays, parties, and weddings.
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| Sita, an ATTA apprentice |
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| Selling raffle tickets |
Finally, the big day arrived, and everyone worked hard
getting the carnival games, tents, and chairs in place. By mid-morning, we were ready with “Pêche des Bouteilles,” “Resistance,” “Le
Mirroir,” “Trouvez-moi ma queue” and other games. Tickets were 25 cfa apiece, and soon the
place was full with kids, trying their luck at fishing for Coke bottles and
walking a path using a mirror held above their head. Others enjoyed trying to draw on a pig’s tail
blindfolded (variation of pin the tail on the donkey) or test their strength
holding out a bottle filled with sand for a minute, without touching the rope
below.
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| Games area |
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| Draw the tail on the pig! |
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| "Resistance" |
At 14:00, the grand ceremony started, complete with visitors
from Ouaga representing all our donors.
Guests of honor took their place in chairs under a large tent while the
villagers and children circled around them.
The president of our association opened the ceremony, and he was
followed by speeches from the mayor and various donors. The highlight was the fashion show, with both
Burkinabe and American models! We had
invited my neighbors, Chad, Tana, and Lindsy to participate, along with my
sitemate Evan. The models showcased
traditional complets and boubous as well as modern
ensembles. The outfits were created by
both the current ATTA workshop and many of ATTA’s former apprentices, spread
out throughout the southwest (Gaoua, Bobo, Orodara, etc.) The models made quite the impression with our
exaggerated poses!
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| Chad's brushin' it off |
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| Evan strutting his stuff |
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| Deborah waving to the adoring crowd! |
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| Lindsy's hot pink ensemble! |
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| Tana was made to model! |
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| My interesting complet |
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| Macheta and Chantal in traditional pagne |
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| Really pretty modern dress! |
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| Moussa in his hand-tailored suit! |
By the end of the day, we were all pretty tired from the
events, so I didn’t stick around to see if I won one of the bikes, cell phones,
bags, 50 kg bags of rice, or the computer (I didn’t). Instead, after the theatre group performed
their skit, the commemorative poems were recited, and the reception was over, my
friends and I headed home. Overall, the ATTA
Kermesse was a great event, for both the association’s publicity in the
community and networking with donors and supporters, but I’m glad it’s a
biannual event!
A big thanks to a fellow PCV, Scott, for his great pictures
throughout the Kermesse!
