Kénitra is preparing to reignite its cultural scene by organizing a new festival named the “Kénitra Festival,” following a complete halt of major cultural activities since 2018, which marked the last edition of the “Tamousida” festival, the city’s most prominent cultural event for a decade.
The stoppage of the “Tamousida” festival was attributed to the failure of the overseeing association to secure the necessary financial support for its continuity, leading to a suspension of its activities and a total absence of any artistic or cultural events for seven years.
This cultural stagnation began to shift after the appointment of Abdelhamid Al-Mazid as the governor of the Kénitra province. He launched an initiative to restore cultural significance to the city by imagining a new approach that involves organizing a large annual festival under the name of Kénitra, adopting a more professional and sustainable perspective.
In this context, the previous organizing association underwent a complete restructuring, updating its board and strengthening it with new members who possess extensive experience in cultural event organization. This is seen as a strategy to break the cycle of inertia that hindered the previous festival.
Informed sources indicated that the change in the festival’s name is not merely symbolic but is part of a new strategic direction aimed at giving the festival a more inclusive and open character, with the goal of broadening its audience and appeal at both regional and national levels.
The same sources revealed that preparations are underway to appoint a new artistic director for the festival, someone with significant experience managing major festivals in various Moroccan cities, signaling a clear ambition to establish the “Kénitra Festival” as a key cultural event on the Moroccan calendar.
