Chronicle Editor
Melissa Mpofu, Showbiz Editor
Fresh from the Independence Day celebrations in Bulawayo last week, the fun is not stopping as all roads lead to Victoria Falls this weekend for the Victoria Falls Carnival.
The event is returning after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and excitement among fun lovers is on another level.
With only three days left before the event kicks off, event organisers yesterday released the full lineup of artistes performing at the event to hype people up.
Rocking the carnival main arena on Day 1 (April 29) will be DJ Francis, Ngoma Ingoma, Khoisan (Botswana), La Timmy (Botswana), Master KG (SA), Scorpion Kings (SA), Sha Sha and DJ Colastraw (Botswana).
The event, taking place at the Elephant Hills Resort, is expected to kick off at 6PM with the artistes being allocated one-hour slots.
As the event is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, organisers have added more side activities fun in the form of boat parties that will feature performances from renowned artistes from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Friday, the first day of the three-day carnival will see people jamming to music from DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small and Sha Sha on the Zambezi Explorer.
On Saturday there will be another Sunset Cruise Experience with Gemma Griffiths and Nutty O.
The cruises will be graced by Boity Thulo who will be promoting her sparkling fruit beverage brand, BT Signature.
It pays to be a VVIP ticket holder as an “All White Peachy Affair” private pool party has been organised. It will take place at the carnival’s new venue, Elephant Hills Resort.
On Sunday, another event, the Kunye Party has been organised. It will take place at the Look Out Café and will feature performances by DJ Shimza, Sun-El Musician, Darque, Nitefreak and Suraj.
All these side events have been arranged as part of the event’s 10-year celebrations. Festival director Craig Bright said preparations for the event are coming up well.
“Things have been going extremely well on the event preparation side. The new date change to the end of April has been met with such positivity and we’re preparing for record numbers in our beautiful home town of Victoria Falls at our new venue home, the Elephant Hills Hotel and Resort,” Bright said.
He said because of the change of dates from the end of December to the end of April, the narrative has changed and this year’s event will be a celebration of everything in Africa.
“By moving out of the New Year’s and giving our carnival its own date to celebrate all that is good about Africa and African arts and culture, we have changed the narrative
It’s no longer a celebration of an old year ending and a new year beginning, but a celebration of African arts, music and culture.”
Hosting the carnival in a less hectic month, Bright said has provided many advantages as the event is not competing with many events.
“By moving the carnival out of the high season, things are a lot more feasible for our fans. We’re also not competing with New Year’s events that are organised all around the world and we’ll certainly start to get more repeat fans coming year on year.
“We’re well ahead of the curve with regard to ticket sales and the response to the artistes’ announcements has been through the roof.
We haven’t seen this much excitement and engagement in the past nine years so everything is building up to what’s going to be an incredible 10th edition of the carnival.”
On finally being able to host the event after a two-year hiatus, Bright said: “We’re all excited and grateful to be able to host the carnival after the two-year hiatus and build on previous years to make the 10th year edition one to remember.”
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