Tanzania crooner Diamond Platnumz is among other musicians who will grace the inaugural Naivasha Green Love festival to be held at Hell's Gate National Park in Naivasha on Valentine's Day.

Naivasha Green Love festival chairman Gitau Kimani, of the Lake Naivasha Sawela lodge, said that apart from the Bongo musicians, Kenyan musicians such as Mike Rua among others will take to the stage in an event expected to attract both local and foreign visitors as it is the first of its kind in East Africa.

"Hell's Gate will be alive with cultural performances, exhibitions and musical performances, with the highlight of the day being Diamond Platnumz and Mike Rua among others," said Kimani.

He said there is much about the region that the world does not know about and the festival will help market Naivasha as a tourist destination.

"The region has always been known as a transit point, whether as a staging area for safaris, a node on the Trans-Africa highway, or the first airline flights into Kenya. Currently, Naivasha is exploding with development. It has a burgeoning population and produces the largest percentage of Kenya's electricity and nearly one in four of the world's cut flowers," Kimani said.

He added that there is much more to Naivasha than hospitality, commerce and culture, factors that make the area already ideal for this historic event.

"Not many people remember that it has also played a key role in regional peace initiatives that established agreements such as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the Second Sudanese Civil War, and the Kenyan constitutional talks resulting in the Naivasha Accord," said Mr Kimani.

He said Naivasha's reputation for peace, diversity and flowers will be in sharp focus in the inaugural festival from February 13-15.

"Naivasha Love Festival is structured into three themed days of activity -- Green Love, a sustainability conference on February 13; Red Love: Love in Paradise on February 14 and Love for Culture and Art on February 15," he said.

Charity Githinji, a tourism expert and a technical advisor to the Nakuru county government on the Naivasha Green Love Festival, said the event is striving to be the first green festival in Africa.

She said the activities will start on February 13 with a sustainability conference where stakeholders will discuss challenges and come up with a plan that will support the Green City plans.

"Red Love on February 14 will involve a morning hike on Mount Longonot, Lake Naivasha clean-up and tree planting followed by evening entertainment from various artistes organised by the Koroga Festival team who are having their first-ever performances outside Nairobi," she said.

The organisers have also planned a global village which will be open during the day at Hell's Gate where exhibitors from various sectors ranging from hospitality, floriculture, culture and trade will be showcasing their products. The following day, those in attendance will start with hiking up Eburu Forest, followed by a cycling race inside the Hell's Gate Park and finally a boating competition in Lake Naivasha.

Agencies