People from all over the world will be gathering at Elem-Kalabari, Rivers State, as the Kalabari Ethnic Nationality celebrates its Annual New Year Festival on the 16th of November, 2025.
The activity will climax a weeklong activity, which started with an arts exhibition in Port Harcourt and will be crowned with the main New Year Festival at Elem-Kalabari.
A statement, on Saturday, by the organisers of the Kalabari New Year Festival, the Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, signed by Mr Harry Awolayeofori Macmorrison, Chairman and Ibiba DonPedro, Head, Media, stated that the celebration is coming up for the second time after centuries of Kalabari breaking into several Communities across Rivers State.
The statement added, “Also, notable is the return of the whole Communities to Elem-Kalabari, their ancestral land, to perform a sacred festival together for the first time as a show of their unity and resolve to return to the front as a people.
The statement read that the Kalabari New Year Festival, which will usher in the blessings of the year 2026, ahead of other ethnic groups in Nigeria, will be crowned with grand performances by cultural and contemporary groups from across the Kalabari land, where the world is expected to converge and enjoy the wonders and unique abilities of the Kalabari people.
“The venue for the current New Year Festival, Elem-Kalabari, promises to attract tourists and dignitaries across the world because of its serene location, the famous ancestral well with healing powers, and the development of the blue economy in the area, among others.
“To facilitate a grand celebration, transportation has been provided at cost to the passenger in Abonnema Wharf- Port Harcourt, Bakana, Abonnema for visitors, while houseboats will be made available for selected people.
“Among dignitaries expected in Elem- Kalabari are representatives from Rivers and Bayelsa States, leaders of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), and delegates from the US and the UK.”
Recall that the Kalabaris are naturally placed where they must rise early to survive, and the prominence of the Kalabari people is annually reinforced with the new year festivals in all Kalabari communities.
