The city of Sefrou will host the 96th edition of the Cherry Festival from 26 to 29 May. This year, several innovations in terms of organisation and programming have been introduced.
A mountainous and ancestral city famous for the succulent "fruit of kings", the city of Sefrou will host the 96th edition of the Cherry Festival from 26 to 29 May. Placed under the High Patronage of H.M. King Mohammed VI and organised by the urban commune of Sefrou, in partnership with the newly created "Al-Karaz" (Cherry) Foundation, this edition will be marked by several innovations in terms of organisation and programming. "This Foundation was created for the preservation and enhancement of the Moussem and for reflection, throughout the year, on the structuring, organisation, and logistics of this traditional annual festival, which was classified as intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2012 by UNESCO," explains Abdelaaziz Taki Alaoui, president of the Al-Karaz Foundation.
In addition to the support of the Municipal and Provincial Councils of Sefrou, associative actors, professionals, artists, and visual artists from the city have been associated with the effort of organisation and animation of this Cherry Moussem, with the objective of giving it a dimension of cultural, artistic, heritage, and economic scale, he added in a statement to the newspaper "Le Matin". In addition to the selection ceremony for "Miss Cerisette" and the "Bride" of the 2016 edition among competitors aged 18 to 30, this year's programme includes socio-cultural and economic activities and a "Tbourida" show, with the participation of 36 "Sorbas" of horsemen from all four corners of the country. The organisers have also planned exhibitions of agricultural products, including cherries, and handicrafts, while other stands will be reserved for the achievements of the National Initiative for Human Development. In parallel, musical evenings will be hosted by popular artists, including Ahmed Chawki, Ali Kamal, Chab Simo, Mohammed Benhayoun, the Amazigh singer Aicha Maya, and the groups "Sefraoui Vision" and "Oulfat Al Ghiwane".
This year, three additional esplanades will be installed in districts of the city to allow young virtuosos to flourish and present their talents to the general public, the organisers indicate. They add that to raise public awareness of the first national cause of the Moroccan Sahara, Hassani art will be present alongside Amazigh music.
Shows are also planned in the old Medina, at the civil prison, and at the Sefrou home for the elderly. Present at a press conference, Fouzia El Hrach, Miss Cerisette 2015, declared herself committed since her consecration to promoting the Cherry Moussem and the beautiful city of Sefrou, ensuring that the role of the queen of "Hab Al-Moulouk" (cherries) must no longer be ephemeral, but must last throughout the year to serve the good cause of the city.
