PRESS RELEASE
9th Kankurang Festival Slated For 23rd- 25th January 202
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture announces that the 9th edition of the Kankurang Festival will take place in McCarthy Island (Janjangbureh) from Friday, 23rd to Sunday, 25th January 2026.
The festival is organized by the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in collaboration with the community of Janjangbureh, and celebrates the Manding Masking Tradition of Kankurang, inscribed by UNESCO in 2005.
This year’s edition is funded by the European Union Youth Empowerment Project (EU-YEP) for Tourism and Creative Arts, the Gambia Tourism Board, and the Government of The Gambia.
Activities include an opening ceremony on Friday evening, the main festival event on Saturday evening at the Tiyansita site, and a procession of 13 cultural groups through the island on Saturday afternoon. Other highlights include Made-in-The-Gambia exhibitions, culinary showcases, arts and crafts workshops, and curated heritage tours.
Security and safety will be ensured through the collaboration of the Gambia Police Force, Gambia Prison Service, Fire and Rescue Services, and the Gambia Red Cross Society.
The festival comes shortly after the 2025 UNESCO inscription of Historic Georgetown (Janjangbureh) into the Sites of Memory Associated with Slavery, further strengthening the island’s cultural significance.
The Ministry expresses appreciation to the European Union and all partners for their continued support of cultural preservation, youth empowerment, and sustainable tourism development in The Gambia.
