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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
ABOUT 15 000 Catholics from across the country and South Africa are expected to throng Hwange for the 2019 St Cecilia annual music competition set for tomorrow.
Twenty-seven choirs from all the eight Catholic dioceses and one from Johannesburg will take to the stage at Hwange Colliery Stadium as they battle for supremacy at the occasion being hosted by Hwange Diocese for the first time since inception of the competition.
Hwange Diocese covers Victoria Falls, Hwange, Dete, Binga, Jotsholo, Gomoza and Lusulu areas.
The Catholic Church has eight dioceses in the country namely the two archdioceses of Bulawayo and Harare, as well as Gokwe, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutare, Chinhoyi and Hwange dioceses.
The church’s music spiritual advisor, Father Mgcini Moyo, said preparations are going on well.
“We can look at preparations from different angles such as spiritual, pastoral and monetary. To the Church this is not just a day for competition but a celebration of our Saint Cecilia where we preach through music,” he said.
“We expect more than 7 000 choristers and around 5 000 participants and fans who will come from different parts of the country to cheer their dioceses and deaneries,” he said.
Fr Moyo paid tribute to well-wishers who have contributed towards holding of the event.
“We are also grateful for the support we got from our partners especially our usual partner Ecosure. We also want to thank those in Hwange Diocese for the hard work and preparations they have been doing all along. We are hosting this year’s edition amid serious economic challenges but the day has come and preparations have gone well,” said Fr Moyo.
Rodrick Hwaire, chair of the local organising committee on behalf of the Zimbabwe Catholic Association of Sacred Music (ZICASAM) said: “Choirs will start arriving Friday and will be booked in various schools around Hwange town. We are expecting 27 choirs including one from South Africa and so far we haven’t been told of any that are likely to fail to come after registering,” he said.
The event is a rare domestic tourism opportunity for the usually quiet coal mining town as it comes with business opportunity besides breathing some form of life for the weekend.
Judging by the usually high temperatures in Hwange, it will be brisk business for those who sell soft drinks, bottled water as well as flavoured ice popularly known “freezits”.
The choirs include, in the order of their ballots: Kwekwe, Gokomere, Masvingo South, Gokwe, Masvingo urban, Bulawayo North West, Chinhoyi Urban, Chirumhanzu, Mutare, Marondera, Masvingo Eastern, Bulawayo, Soweto, Gweru Urban, Masvingo South Bondolfi and Inner City of Harare. – @ncubeleon
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