This is the big day, the day for which all The Belinga Foundation teams and the people of the entire Mengong county have been working for over a year. It’s the day when, once again, THE BELINGA FOUNDATION celebrates culture and living together. It’s a day of reunion between the people of Mengong and their culture.

In the early hours of the morning, the town of MENGONG is decked out in its finest finery. Barkeepers replenish their stocks and make their final adjustments.

At the COCAM stadium, venue for the opening ceremony, everything is ready. In the festival village, exhibitors are finishing setting up, and already the first festival-goers are pouring in.

It’s precisely 2 p.m. when the portocolary phase kicks off with an ecumenical prayer led by the various religious leaders in the county The prayer is followed by a series of speeches. After the representative of THE BELINGA FOUNDATION, the mayor of MENGONG, and the chief of the BULU NORD paramount chieftancy , the representative of the Governor of the Southern region takes the floor to congratulate the teams of THE BELINGA FOUNDATION, organizers of the festival, and above all to exhort all the children of the county to unite to make the festival even greater.

After the speeches the inaugural parade,performed by some 120 kids from the various villages of the county begins. For fifteen minutes In a series of tableaux, the young people talk about the cultural richness of Cameroon in its four cultural areas, and celebrate the virtues of unity and diversity, showing how important it is to be united.

Given that this year’s edition of the Festival is placed under the theme: “Unity and Diversity”,dance groups from all four cultural areas were invited. For this opening ceremony, it was the Manguissa dance group who opened the ball to the thunderous applause of the large audience, which included many important figures such as Mrs Céline Mendoua and the Secretary General of the Governor’s Office, representing the Governor who was unable to attend