Abstract

The study examined the interface between cultural festivals and rural livelihood in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts, Nigeria. Geospatial technique was used in mapping seventeen cultural festival sites across six Local Government Areas, providing precise geographical coordinates for locations like the Ndad Ekpo festival in Midim community and the Ikot Ekpene Carnival in Raffia City, establishing a foundational understanding of their spatial distribution. 357 copies of questionnaires were administered in the study area, complemented by focus group discussions, individual interviews and site observation/regular visits. It was revealed that there are numerous festive events ongoing in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, yet not widely known and patronize due to low media engagement. The study also assessed rural livelihood activities as prevalent in the various communities, it was revealed that trading mostly craft and cultural artefacts was the primary income source across the six local government areas.  Certain challenges were identified that hindered the sustainability of income among cultural festival stakeholders mostly non involvement of locals in policy implementation, inadequate financial support, dominance by external investors, short-lived nature of the festival, poor branding and promotion, low capacity among planners and organisers among others. Hence, it was recommended that involvement of locals in policy implementation should be strengthened, in addition to micro-grant support from State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, empowerment of local entrepreneurs, incorporation of local entertainers and artisans, effective branding and promotion as well as training of tourism planners and organisers in the study area.