By Our Correspondent|6 December 2016
The Carnival Calabar dry run expected to be the last before the main street party is to record large turn out from known faces in the Nigerian film industry dubbed 'Nollywood.'
This will be the first time actors will be participating in the dry run as they have, in the past only been part of the main event only.
Among the actors expected to hit the centre stage of the event include Desmond Elliot, Keppy Ekpenyong, Alex Ekubor, Kunle Afolayan, Bimbo Akintola, Shan George, Pete Edocheie, Jide Kosoko, Fred Amata, Mr Ibu, Sedater Saviour, Fidelis Duker, Moses Armstrong, Ini Edo, Emmanuel Williamson, among others.
The actors, who will turn up en masse, this Sunday at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar, Cross River for Africa's much talked about annual state movie awards tagged 'Cross River Movie Award' (CRMA), but expected to storm the Carnival Calabar dry run during the day before the CRMA built to hold later that evening.
Mr. Obaji Akpet, creative Director of Cross River Studios, the company responsible for publicizing CRMA in a statement to the media said it was part of CRMA's goal to bring about needed support in every entertainment facet of Cross River, which Carnival Calabar remains pivotal.
"This will be the first time actors will be attending carnival dry run in the state. in the past, the state was only able to attract them for the main event," Akpet said.
Adding that, "CRMA is an event that should be encouraged by all including government and private individuals given the level of lime light it gives the state's various potentials.
It could be recalled that CRMA, recently announced its nominees for the award, during which over 45 films drawn from the Nigerian Film Industry were enlisted for awards.
Since the event debut in 2013 as convened yearly in Calabar by Mr. Eric Anderson former Cross River chairman of Actor's Guild of Nigeria (AGN), who currently doubles as Special Assistant to Cross River Government on Tourism Development, CRMA has consistently maintained its pitch as foremost state movie award events taking after continental movie awards like the AMMAs.
