Garri Fest

Garri Fest is Nigeria's first festival dedicated to celebrating garri, one of the country's most important and culturally significant staple foods. Held at the Cultural Centre in Port Harcourt, the festival explores garri's journey from cassava farm to kitchen table, and its role in Nigerian identity.

Festival highlights:

- Garri tasting stations featuring regional varieties: Ijebu garri (fine, sour), Bendel garri (yellow, granular), and Northern garri (white, coarse)

- Cooking demonstrations: eba masterclass, garri soakings with different combinations (groundnut, sugar, milk, coconut), garri-crusted fish, and garri ice cream

- Farm-to-table exhibition: live cassava processing demonstrations showing peeling, grating, pressing, frying, and sieving

- Cultural performances: songs and storytelling about garri in Nigerian life — the student survival food, the currency of community, the great equalizer

- "Garri Innovation Challenge" pitch competition: ₦3M prize for the best garri-based product innovation

- Kids' zone with garri art (yes, garri art) and junior cooking challenges

Admission: ₦3,000 (includes a tasting passport with 5 sample credits). VIP: ₦10,000 (all-inclusive tasting, shaded lounge, commemorative festival garri tin).

The festival supports cassava farming cooperatives, with 10% of proceeds donated to smallholder farmer training programmes in Rivers State.