adminGwanda Correspondent
THEATRE groups from Midlands and Great Zimbabwe State Universities will this year grace the Matabeleland South Rainbow Province Arts Festival (RPAF) which begins today in Gwanda.
The 6th edition of the festival will run from today to Saturday under the theme “Our Arts, Our Culture”.
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has been running the festival since its inception in 2009 but has since handed over the responsibility to the community.
In an interview yesterday, the festival director Future Moyo said all was set for the festival in which more than 25 groups will participate.
He said: “This will be the first edition of the festival under community management and we are happy to say everything is in order and ready to start this annual festival.”
He said there will be a number of groups drawn from within and out of the province that will feature for the first time in the festival.
“We will have two theatre groups from outside the province, from MSU and GZU.
“We identified these groups because they are doing theatre professionally and thus will help capacitate our local theatre groups through interaction,” said Moyo.
He said different groups from all the districts including schools would perform at the festival as well.
There will be theatre, music, live bands, poets, comedians, traditional and modern dance groups. There will also be an exhibition and sale of crafts.
Moyo said they will have workshops and theatre night today.
“On the second day (tomorrow) we will have a procession in the afternoon from Spitzkop North to the Gwanda District Club where the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Cde Abedinico Ncube will officially open the festival,” he said.
The festival would be an opportunity to launch literature competitions programme for high schools targeted at encouraging the writing of short stories and poetry among other things.
“Through our research, we have noted that schools still need to do a lot especially in theatre.
“According to our action plan, we are hoping that if we get more funding, we will have programmes running throughout the year like workshops and competitions specifically for high schools,” said Moyo.
Members of the community have been encouraged to attend the festival in their numbers.
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