There is no doubt that the entertainment industry in Port Harcourt is growing by leaps and bounds with innovative and creative ideas by the shakers and movers of the industry.
This came alive as Port Harcourt fun seekers defied the rain in their number and trooped into the main arena of Peace Park on Aba Road near the Airforce Base to participate in the Bole Festival, late afternoon penultimate Friday and Saturday.
The festival however, turned into carnival as the both side lines of that part of Aba Road witnessed gridlock. Fun lovers adorned different fashionable clothes like don green (jean upon jean), black T-shirt and black chino jean trouser and other assorted fashionable clothes which added more colour, pomp and pageantry to the festival.
Port Harcourt residents, especially those who took part in the festival would not forget so soon that the huge success achieved by the management team and the organisers of this event, as though there was no cash crunch in the nation’s economy, has proved that the entertainment industry in the state is rich and robust, waiting to be explored and tapped by both indigenous and foreign tourists.
Little wonder, despite the bad weather and the presence of fierce looking bouncers and other private security men at the main entrance into the Peace Park, the gate fee of two thousand Naira (N2,000,00) and the small pieces of bole in a foil plate which was sold at two thousand Naira (N2,000.00) participants did not mind as they queued up and paid in their number.
There were other festive lovers who could not find their way into the Peace Park proper, due to the large crowd, but brought their bole from volunteers in the main bowl of the peace park behind the wire cage on the counter.
Speaking to The Tide, the volunteers who preferred anonymity said they had to assist the organisers and the management of the bole festival was ensure that every fun seeker is treated as an important personality which was responsible for huge patronage. They also revealed that there were some patronisers in the festival, who did not have money on them, but availed themselves of the POS services rendered by the volunteers.
In the large crowd, The Tide spoke with a member of the management team, Mr Divine Agulu, who declined to grant interview, but promised to get in touch with the head of the media team of the event but did not return back whilst The Tide waited endlessly in the rain accompanied by cold breeze.
In another development, there were important lessons to learn from the bole festival, it has created employment amongst the teeming youths in the state, as they voluntarily elected to work as volunteers and to be paid handsomely for their services by the management of the festival.
Again, the bole festival has proved beyond any reasonable doubt that if the right atmosphere, innovation and creativity are put in place, the entertainment industry in the state has a lot to offer in the areas of employment, comic relief, fight against boredom which are elements of healthy living. In consideration of the huge crowd that was attracted by the bole festival, fun seekers in the city would be willing to pay any amount of money just to catch fun.
However, the two-day bole festival which shook Port Harcourt has come and gone, but the memory would continue to linger in the hearts of both the crowd who participated in the festival, the management and the organisers for a long time.

By: Okwein Parker/Newlife Sunday