Ibumba Festival (iFest) begins

Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
LOCAL artistes have been urged to have unity of purpose in order for their industry to develop so they earn a decent living. Speaking at the Ibumba International Festival (iFest) opening ceremony on Wednesday evening, guest of honour – Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Busisa Moyo said artistes needed to support each other.

“We need to have one voice about our country and developing the arts. If we speak with one voice and have a common purpose we’ll pull in one direction thereby the arts sector will develop and people can make money off their artistic talent,” said Moyo.

He said it takes grit and hard work for one to be successful in life, an attribute that artistes should have.

“Artistes should’ve courage and vision so that they can change their situations. I’d like to commend the festival director Saimon ‘Mambazo’ Phiri and his team for having a vision to grow the festival. What Bulawayo and Zimbabwe arts need are more people with vision like Phiri,” said Moyo.

Mambazo said the week-long iFest, now in its seventh edition, had been created for the Bulawayo, especially the Makokoba populace to have a place where they can explore the world of arts under one roof.

“Ibumba means bringing different elements together to make something good. This is why we’re bringing together all art disciplines under one roof for seven days,” Mambazo said.

He said they had shortened the festival’s name to iFest to make it more appealing to wider audiences. The festival is being held under the theme: “Full On”.

“iFest rolls smoothly off the tongue and so after some deliberations with the team, we decided to settle for that name for this year’s edition. This doesn’t mean iFest is different from Ibumba, it’s one and the same thing,” said Mambazo.

A cocktail party was held before the opening ceremony with visiting artistes including South Africa’s African Tree productions showcasing snippets of their play, The System. The play will run at the Bulawayo theatre from today until Sunday. Attendees included the principal director in the ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture and Heritage – Reverend Paul Bayethe Damasane, provincial arts manager in the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe – Charity Nyathi and Afro Jazz musician Jeys Marabini.

Swaziland group, Chakalaka, also took to the stage for a brief performance. Their lead singer Nonhlanhla Sibisi’s strong but angelic voice wowed the crowd.

The Stanley Square Main stage was lit up by performances from Zambia’s African productions, Bulawayo’s CLSG Choir, Clement Magwaza and Amawumbo.

Tshibilika musician Magwaza and his band Mlambo Express raised the bar with their usual theatrics on stage that comprised fast-paced dancing and the singing of his social conscience songs.

Local DJ Slamma took over the decks at midnight and kept the crowd on their feet.