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| Graduands Yoah (Black) and Maseray (White) |
Last Saturday evening June 2, 2012, most Sierra Leoneans in Minnesota headed to the East Side Neighborhood center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, hoping to enjoy a simple graduation party thrown for Maseray Mambu, daughter of Marie Momoh and Joe Mambu and Yoah Cammue, daughter of Salamatu Forte. Everybody who thought that this was just going to be another drab and dull feel good graduation event were in for a pleasant surprise, as the great Sierra Leone musical maestro Steady Bongo of "Makondor" fame was in town to give a spectacular and long to be remembered performance!
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| Proud Mum Marie Momoh |
Marie Momoh, a long time Minnesota resident who packed her bags and went back to Sierra Leone some six years ago after finishing her graduate studies to participate in nation building, flew all the way from Freetown, Sierra Leone to grace her daughter's graduation and managed to convince her cousin the great Steady Bongo to come to Minnesota and liven up the graduation bash. Both Steady Bongo and Marie are from Bobohun in Jawei chiefdom, Kailahun district and a lot of Jawei and Kailahun people were there including almost the entire Who-is-Who of the Sierra Leone community in Minnesota. The whole planning by Alicia Momoh (KV) and MCing by Tiange Thomasia just added spice to a memorable evening.
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| Proud Grandma Theresa Momoh |
The Segbwema blogger whose maternal grandmother is Kallon from Nyadehun Jawei was also on hand to cover the events, though he was somehow late to the speeches. Maseray and Yoah have just graduated from high school and only God knows what Marie and family have up have up their sleeves for the college graduation!
The live show started with a great performance by budding local musicians Nyakeh Momoh and Dennis Fitzjohn as a lead in for the great Steady Bongo who came and showed the young guys how it was done. Steady Bongo has been steadily churning out great Albums in Sierra leone for almost twenty years and he did not disappoint, but kept the crowd begging for more. He emphatically displayed why he has been in the musuic business for so long.
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| Proud Aunt Feima |
When Steady Bongo took to the stage, everybody got to their feet and kept dancing till he left the stage, only after begging the enthusiastic audience to let him go. Steady who told the audience that he had no paper in the USA and his only paper he wanted in the USA was the US dollar was showered with dollars from the moment he stepped on to the stage to the moment he stepped. his latest album that he brought to the hall sold out in less than an hour.
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| The Great Steady Bongo |
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| Steady working the crowd |
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| Cutting Cake Family affair |
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| Organizers Safia and Alicia |
For those who were not there, the great Steady is planning a trip to Minnesota sometime next year and we are all waiting for him to come back. Maseray and Yoah have just set a new bar for high school graduations in Minnesota and unless someone is planning to bring Kanda Bongo Man, the act is going to be hard to beat follow and beat!
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