ATTA Kermesse 2012!

Last Saturday, April 14^th, 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. 

President of ATTA

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.

Sita, an ATTA apprentice

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. 

Games area

Draw the tail on the pig!

"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!

Chad's brushin' it off

Evan strutting his stuff

Deborah waving to the adoring crowd!

Lindsy's hot pink ensemble!

Tana was made to model!

My interesting complet

Macheta and Chantal in traditional pagne

Really pretty modern dress!

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!