When addressing the media during the Media Exhibition Tour on Saturday in Xere, the Deputy District Commissioner for Boteti, Ewetse Selelo, said they have so far made great progress on preparations for the event. He said they were confident that this year's festival was going to be much bigger and better than last year. He added that he was confident it would attract more attendees since they invited many people who have so far confirmed their attendance. He said so far preparations for the event were ongoing such as dance rehearsals, building megowafatshe (Basarwa houses made of grass and reeds) which are almost done.
He also said they would be pitching tents, and bringing in other hospitality services needed for the event so that everything goes well during the festival. "We will be hosting the Xere Festival on August 23 and 24. The event will be hosted by the Xere Conservation Trust. The money raised here will be given to the Trust. It will give some of the money to the community for some development. Xere is far from the developments and is 45 kilometres away from Rakops, which is the nearest big village. The proceedings from the event are expected to bring changes to the lives of people living in Xere," he said. Selelo further explained that even though the festival started last year, it did not have much impact in the community as they faced some changes since it was the event's first edition. He pointed out that the Xere community is faced by challenges such as poverty and some financial challenges at the school.
He also said the trust was made up of Xere youth adding that all the preparations for the upcoming festival were done by the residents. During the media tour, the journalists went for a game drive into the CKGR and later enjoyed the Sesarwa dance in the evening by the bonfire. People will also learn the Sesarwa lifestyle such as making fire from scratch, cooking different Sesarwa dishes and more during the cultural exhibitions. On Friday, there will be a game drive early in the morning into the CKGR and later traditional exhibitions where Sesarwa culture and a way of living will be showcased. That includes hunting, skinning an animal, cooking it Sesarwa way and many more. Still on Friday evening, there will be a sundowner where patrons will take pictures as the sun sets (go phirima ga letsatsi) and enjoy entertainment such as poetry, folklore music from local guitarists, and Sesarwa dance around the fire.
On Saturday evening after the exhibitions during the day, revellers will also be treated to the Sesarwa dance displaying their culture on a showcase dubbed The Night of The First Kalahari People, a traditional song and dance showcase by the Xere Dance Troop and later at night, there will be an Urban Festival featuring Vee Mampeezy, Culture Spears, Franco, Natureboy and DJ KSB. Other artists who will be performing there include Tlhoma Ka Serethe hit maker, Monnamogolo wa Thulaganyo, Chokoma, DJ Lefatshe and many others.
