adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
IT is six weeks before the Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo comes alive and celebrates 10 years of existence with Cool Crooners, Tariro neGitare and Outfit Band scheduled for the festival’s Spring Jazz Show.
This year’s theme is Unforgettable and is in line with reflecting on the past 10 years of the festival.
In an interview, Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo director Raisdon Baya said everything was in place for the city to celebrate two occasions, Intwasa Festival at 10 years and Bulawayo at 120 years.
“We have numerous programmes lined up and the Intwasa festival will be bigger this year. The city is celebrating 120 years and the festival is celebrating 10 years, so it is befitting for us to come up with a big closing ceremony,” he said.
Baya said they had secured the services of Cool Crooners, Outfit Band, Tariro neGitare and were in talks with a female jazz musician to headline the popular Spring Jazz Festival.
“I cannot reveal who we are talking to but what I can assure you that she is one of the best female Zimbabwean jazz musicians. I do not want to pre-empt anything as we shall be finalising the contracts with her,” he said.
Baya said celebrating 10 years was a time to reflect on the successes and difficulties that they faced in organising and running the festival.
He said the festival was a celebration of the dedication by Bulawayo artistes for performing at the festival for all these years.
“Many festivals have come and gone but Intwasa Arts Festival has been there for the past 10 years. We have had all the editions and we hope to continue having more. We also reflect on the massive contribution and dedication by Bulawayo artistes during the years as this is a platform for them to perform and show the diversity the city and country has,” said Baya.
He said the festival would not have been a success all through these years if there was no support from their traditional sponsors such as Hivos, Culture Fund, Chibuku, British Council and plan among others.
“Intwasa is now part of the fibre of the Bulawayo culture, and if there is no Intwasa this year there will be a very big gap left in the arts sector. A number of partners have come through over the years so we are grateful to them for that. We are grateful to the people of Bulawayo for supporting us all through the years. This is a time to also look into the future and make the festival the most sought after event,” said Baya.
Musicians such as Dudu Manhenga, Kenyan group Rass Miller Gaga, American Jazz Group Days Ahead, Albert Nyathi and Edith weUtonga have once performed during the festival.
Last year tshova tshova musician Clement Magwaza shot into prominence with a fast paced exhilarating performance at the Chibuku stage situated in the City Hall car park that surprised many.
This year new slots are on the cards for fashion and comedy with the usual slots theatre, poetry and workshops continuing.
This year, the finals of the Plan High Schools Drama Competition, which is arguably one the biggest drama competitions for secondary and high schools in Zimbabwe, will be held during the festival.
The competition seeks to identify and develop theatrical talent among secondary and high school pupils in Zimbabwe.
This year the Live Literature Project will have three high school set books Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel and Taban Lo Liyong’s The Colour of Hope.
Live literature always has a packed house at the Bulawayo Theatre as pupils and teachers want to understand their set books more before they are examined.
Online Reporter