The festival is aimed at promoting the community’s cultural heritage while mobilising citizens to support its development.

Togbe Gaxa RFK Allu, Chairman of the Cultural Sub-Committee for the 2026 Kpedze Awatukpe Za, said the month-long celebration would bring together indigenes and residents through traditional, cultural, sporting and social activities, culminating in a grand durbar on the last Saturday of October.

He said Awatukpe was deeply rooted in the history and identity of the Kpedze people, popularly known as “Awatukpedzeawo,” meaning “those who penetrated through bullets.”

He explained that the name Kpedze was derived from the historical identity of the people, adding that the festival continued to preserve their warrior traditions, including the traditional Awatukpe procession.

According to Togbe Gaxa, the procession traditionally involves community members entering the bush with firearms under the direction of traditional leaders and warlords, with gunshots fired from different directions as participants collect the bullets in pots carried by a young woman, girl or boy.

He said the procession was accompanied by traditional music and the beating of the Kalevu, the warriors’ drums.

Togbe Gaxa said the 2026 festival, under the theme, “Harnessing the Potentials of Citizens, Building Our Community Together,” was intended to mobilise chiefs, citizens, the youth and other stakeholders to contribute to the restoration and development of Kpedze.

Previous editions, he said, had supported community initiatives, including efforts to address water challenges. He added that this year’s major development focus would be the construction of an event and cultural centre.

Togbe Gaxa said preparations would begin with the traditional town-cleaning exercise known as “Aƒe babla and gb?me kp?kpl?,” followed by activities including libation pouring, the singing of dirges through the town by women, and the “Duk? nugbuidodo” peace-pipe smoking ceremony.

A food bazaar would also showcase traditional dishes such as kpokplotsikple, kelengedzogbor, w?kple, damekoe or dakpletsroe adibabli, Kpedze detsi with fufu, roasted yam and cocoyam, amakple, and k?l?, a special preparation of akple and Mamaama with red oil without salt.

He said the food exhibition would help preserve indigenous cuisine and reconnect younger generations with foods traditionally consumed by their ancestors and grandparents.

Other activities would include a football gala, a quiz competition for Junior High School students and indoor games to encourage youth participation in the festival.

Togbe Gaxa said the programme would also feature a visit to the community’s ancestral home, Tsotoenu, where participants would honour their forebears through libation, sacrifices and offerings of traditional food before returning to the town.

He stressed that the development of Kpedze required collective responsibility, saying, “We want to harness the potentials of all our citizens so that we work and build Kpedze together.”