The Ambassador and His Wife Visit CIAMO

On Thursday, December 16th, United States Ambassador to Benin, James Knight and his wife Amelia made an official visit to Ouidah, to visit CIAMO and to participate in the opening ceremonies of Festival Carnival Kaleta. From the minute they climbed the stairs to the minute they parted for Cotonou we were continuously impressed by their interest in and devotion to the arts and the local culture.

From 2010-12-15

From 2010-12-15

Anthropologists at heart, the ambassador and his wife were excited to see our new center and to learn about Kaleta. During the visit, we presented to them the center and the historic background of the festival. They were able to see the center at work, as local students gathered for mask-making workshops. Also the Chorale de Ganvè presented a short concert of one Kaleta song and one French Christmas song, Il Est Né.

After, the couple visited the Office of Tourism where they were presented the Historic Mural of Ouidah. A 30 foot long mural was recently completed by a Beninese artist, that depicts several hundred years of Ouidaian history, step by step. A guide quickly explained the history, and shortly after we went to the Port of No Return, the monument to slaves.

The Ambassador and Mrs. Knight then attended a luncheon hosted by former Peace Corps Country Director, Brownie “Mami” Lee , at which many key members of our soon-to-be established NGO were present.

In the afternoon, they visited the Python Temple where Ambassador Knight and Mr. Feilmeyer made friends with a couple of snakes. Mrs. Knight was actually asked to visit the temple, but wasn’t very excited to spend one-on-one time with the snakes. They made a quick visit to the museum at Fort Portuguese and then headed to the performance space at Fort Française to help kick off the festival.

From 2010-12-15

From 2010-12-15

The opening ceremonies were well attended and fantastically interesting. At the ceremony, we were presented with a wide variety of dance traditions, including Kaleta Masked dancing. In once dance, a dance teacher associated with our school actually danced with basins full of fire.

From 2010-12-15

From 2010-12-15

After the Ambassador and Mrs. Knight made a quick stop at the cocktail-reception and made the trip back to Cotonou. It was a wonderful experience for both CIAMO and Festival Carnaval Kaleta to have for the first time, an ambassador visit both the center and attend the opening ceremony.

Thanks for Ambassador James and Amelia Knight for a wonderful time in Ouidah!