Now that the Sefrou Cherry Festival has concluded (see a nice wrap-up at Vagobond.com) it’s time to let you know about the next great Morocco Summer Festival.

The Festival Gnaoua has been rocking the beautiful seaside town of Essouaria since 1998. This year the Gnawa Festival will take place from June 25, 2010 -June 28, 2010. The official site and program can be found at
Festival-Gnaoua.net

Here is a little bit of the history of the Gnawa Festival in Essouaria

Every June thousands of ecstatic fans swoop down on the usually peaceful coastal town of Essaouira. The Gnaoua World Music Festival, brings incredible music, excited fans, and makes it nearly impossible to find accommodation.

Through the years the festival has been visited by such celebrities as Orson Welles, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger. Each year there are scores of brand new acts and returning stars. This is the premier event in the world for Morocco’s most famous music.

Recently, the United Nations named the site where the event takes place a world heritage site. Included in the venue are nine stages where headliners play and two outdoor ampitheatres where free shows fort the public take place. As if that is not enough, there are also several acoustic tents and a couple of small outdoor stages where you will find yourself within intimate range of some of the best world music on the planet.

Owner Mike Richardson is planning on introducing video, music, and interviews. Guest bloggers, what’s happening in Fez, and more….

Cafe Clock wants to be more than a sponsor of the Bombies next year…I smell a contender…..

Check out this call to writers they just put out this morning…..

Shout Out for Writers

As you have probably noticed Café Clock has launched Cafe Clock Online. Yes, that’s right. A place for you to log on, reach out and keep your fingers on the pulse of what’s happening at the Clock and all around town.

We’re shouting out for writers to supply Cafe Clock Online with specialty articles on all kinds of subjects. We want articles, photos, videos and notable quotes.

Here are just a few areas we’re interested in having you write about:

PEOPLE: Who’s new in town? Who just got appointed to an important position? What celebrities have passed through Fes and where did they stay, what did they do, who were they with? Here’s a chance to profile all those wacky, wonderful and imaginative people who live and work and pass through Fes every day.

RESTORATION: Got a restoration project underway? How’s it going? What artisans are you using and how are they doing? Any tips for those following in your footsteps?

TRENDS: How is Fes changing? What is today’s youth doing to prepare themselves for the future and what are they doing for fun? What’s happening in music, dance, fashion and design?

REVIEWS: Tell us about books you’ve read, movies you’ve seen, musicians you’re listening to. Where are the newest hot spots for dining, relaxing and entertainment? What’s that new shop like that just opened up off Mohammed V?

REAL ESTATE: What’s happening on the real estate scene? What’s for sale? What great messerias are available for rent? What’s the market doing overall?

MOROCCAN CULTURE & CUSTOMS: Keep us informed about all the holidays observed in Morocco and give us a little background on the reason for the holiday and what people do to celebrate the Prophets’ birthday, Eid Kbir, Ramadan, The Green March, Ashura. Let our readers know more about the history and customs of Moroccan culture and help them to learn how Moroccans observe special days on the calendar.

If you’re interested in becoming a freelance writer for Café Clock Online, please submit a short sample of your writing. Tell us which category you’re interested in writing about, or suggest another! We’ll review all entries and contact those with the “write” stuff. Be sure to include your contact information with your writing sample. Payment for each published article will be 150 dh token good for food or drink at the Clock.

So get writing, get your samples in and become a published writer!

Email your writing sample to:admin@cafeclock.com

http://marrakechemma.blogspot.com/

I like this blog because it has a certain simplicity to it that you don’t find in a lot of blogs. While at first it seems that maybe the ZamZam retreat is being hyped a little too much, when you take a moment to go deeper, what you find is that here are people who are following their dreams, they are creating their bliss, and even better, they are sharing their journey with the world.

Salam Aleikum
Hi, i’m writing this blog page to share information with all you wanderlust souls out there. Living in Morocco comes with lots of bizarre and unexpected events, which i thought you may enjoy reading about and sharing in the laughter.

My family and I moved to Marrakech 3 years ago from London. The beginning of a huge adventure for us. Choosing which country was right for us to live in had been an extremely long and tiring process. Having made a choice to move to Marrakech, was in itself a big box ticked. We had two criteria lists, one for our business (opening and running a guesthouse) and one for personal. On top of this it had to feel right at a soul level for my husband and I, both who are from very different backgrounds.

Phase two of our journey then began. Setting up home in Morocco, also a non English speaking country with a very different culture to ours. Marrakech is a real melting pot of; languages, tribes, rich, poor, city slickers, country peasants. It sometimes reminds me of that place Luke Skywalker went to, to buy that space ship, with all those different intergalactic aliens. (Any one know what it was called?) After months of beauroctratic paperwork, rendez vous with people who don’t turn up and renting from an unpleasant woman for a large amount of money, we have bought ourselves a villa. This was not on the plan as we didn’t want to tie up our capital in a home. I now realise it is one of the best things we could have done. When you’ve had a really difficult day here to be able to close the door and relax in your own place really balances you.

Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias

The Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias was held in Essaouira for the first time in 2003. It was such a huge success, that it has become an annual event that everyone looks forward to each year. It is a music festival that celebrates and promotes the influences that Andalusias has had on a variety of cultures such as Latin America, Spain and North America. Organizers of the Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias created the music festival with one main goal, to encourage peaceful co-existence and cultural exchange.

The town of Essaouira is located near the popular city of Marrakech and thousands of music enthusiasts gather to enjoy the vast variety of entertainment and music genres on exhibition at the festival. Many of the musicians performing at the festival are known to collaborate on some of their performances, combining their styles to create a unique experience. Festival goers can look forward to hearing everything from Mexican folk music and flamenco rock, to Arabic violin solos and even a few love songs. Some performances are purely instrumental, adding variety and diversity to the festival show program. Bands that have previously performed at the Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias include The Radio-Tarifa Band, Pedro Solar, Javier Ruibal, Touria Hadraoui, Ines Bacan, Majid Bekkas, Guason, Mohamed Ben Omar Ziani, Maurice El Mediouni, Samira Kadiri and Hayat Boukhriss.

Over and above the festival offering wonderful performances by an international line-up of artists, there are many other activities for festival goers to participate in. Some musicians or bands perform exhibits for fans to enjoy, art workshops explore a variety of topics, art exhibitions and fascinating seminars complete this wonderful festival of culture, fun and entertainment. There is definitely something for everyone at the festival and foreign visitors to Morocco should not miss out on this annual event, as the Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias offers them the opportunity to experience and discover a variety of cultures, through hip swinging rhythms and heart tugging ballads. The festival is a wonderful networking venue for musicians, the public and for the different cultures that come to the festival through one common denominator, namely music.