adminMelissa Mpofu Showbiz Editor
THE annual Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa), regarded as one of Africa’s largest international arts festivals, has come and gone and as expected, was a well organised fete.
The week-long festival with a diverse and globally acclaimed artistic programme, is held at 13 stages around Harare, hosting local and international musicians, theatre producers, poets, comedians, circus performers, fashion designers and visual artists. It encompasses five principal disciplines: theatre, music, dance, fine art, and poetry.
The festival, which ran from April 28 to May 3, saw a total 192 performances being held on all platforms with a total of 1,328 artistes taking part. Of the 1,328 artistes, 1,041 were Zimbabwean and 287 were from Asia, Europe, North and South America. Over 50,000 festival goers attended the fete.
Now in its 16th edition, the festival has proven why it has continually been hailed as one of the best festivals on the continent.
Below are some things that made the festival a success, which other festival organisers can learn from.
Job Creation
A significant number of jobs were created during the festival which also calls on the services of street kids who assist drivers to find parking space as well as watch over the cars. They form the greater part of parking attendants. A-Level pupils and school leavers from various communities were employed to assist with ticketing and marshalling among other jobs.
Hifa App
It was close to impossible for festival goers to see everything so it was wise for one to carefully plan and choose the shows they wanted to attend. The introduction of the Hifa App was handy as all one needed to do was download the App and browse the programme on their mobile phones at anytime while they were on the go. Alternatively, one could buy the programme for $5.
Hifa’LUTIN
Hifa’LUTIN, the festival’s daily newspaper which was availed to festival goers, was handy as it had previews, reviews and highlights of the festivals various shows. It also had a daily programme which was convenient for most attendees.
Shuttle Bus
Considering that some venues, especially for theatre and plays were located away from the main Hifa venue — Harare Gardens, the shuttle buses which were always parked outside the gardens were efficient and effective. Free of charge, all one had to do was hop onto the bus and wait to be collected, a few minutes after watching their show.
What’s a VIP?
There was not a single red carpet, entourage or diva at the festival, save for the Green Room which was patronised by the who’s who of Zimbabwe. Besides that, everyone was at par and it was not surprising to find oneself standing next to the country’s influential ministers and decision makers.
Security
There is nothing as satisfying as the feeling of being secure. The Hifa security personnel ensured gate crashers were kept away from the venue to avoid unnecessary disturbances. No cars were allowed to park in front of the entry gates, something which made it easier to access the entry points. The venues were well lit at all times, making it difficult for pick pockets to get any closer.
Marshals
Festival marshals were recruited to direct people, just in case they got lost. They were conveniently placed and easily accessible. One could arrive at the venue clueless about which direction to take but rest assured knowing there was always a marshal close by to give directions.
Time keeping
All shows started at their advertised time and ended on time, something most local festivals need to emulate.
Involvement of children
Weekends are generally a time for families to bond with their children and Hifa seems to have mastered that.
A compact kids programme was put in place with a Simba Youth Zone which was dedicated to children. The zone had all things to make a child’s day, from jumping castles, graffiti, face painting to clowns and edutainment programmes. Workshops at which they were taught how to cook as well as other life skills were also arranged. Parents could leave their children at the zone to enjoy some quality time while the children had their own fun.
Food/Beverages
Numerous stalls were available on site catering for various tastes. Available was isitshwala, chips, burgers, pies, shawarma, wraps, rice and an assortment of grilled meat among other food items. Drinks were also readily available in excess. Neatly dressed vendors could be found at almost every corner of the festival’s main venue. Pub and grills such as Pariah State also set up stands which were crowd favourites.
Variety of shows
The programme was jam packed and there were a variety of shows to choose from. There was something for everyone.
Quality of performances/Choreography
The selection of performers was spot on with most of them delivering top drawer, electrifying performances, often leaving crowds clamouring for more. Hifa ensured local artistes collaborated with artistes from other countries. The lighting effects on all stages, during the day and at night, were something to write home about.
Organisation of event
So much attention was paid to detail, with all 15 venues being allocated venue managers to man them. Periodic meetings were held among organisers to ensure all shows were flowing smoothly. Walkie Talkies proved handy as it took less than a minute for organisers to rectify any problems encountered during the fete. Several runners were employed by Hifa to run errands in-between festival venues and box office errands while others did artist errands. They were allocated an office for easy access.
Online Reporter