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Nkululeko Nkala
I could be wrong in a lot of ways when it comes to this piece, maybe because I only attended Sanganai/Hlanganani for a few hours daily during its run in Bulawayo last week.
Things could have been changing while I was away but my observation is that it was not a runaway success, but it could have been.
On the first day I was disappointed, I think most of the visitors were the exhibitors themselves visiting each other.
My interest in Sanganai/Hlanganani is because the expo sold art.
It was so good to see local art entities in their numbers at the exhibition. Umkhathi Theatre Works, Siyaya, Hloseni, Simunye Simunye, Iyasa, Khaya Arts, Maseko Ceramics, Mabasto Artworks, Intwasa Arts Festival, Ibumba Arts Festival, Bulawayo International Festival of the Arts and The Private Lounge were some of the exhibitors.
Yes, you read well, The Private Lounge had one of the best decorated stands, they even won an award for it. I know therea��s been too much talk around their licensing and decay in society.
But they did put effort into what they do. I hear even ministers took their time and followed the light to go and watch the dancers. Thata��s besides the story anyway. I believe Sanganai/Hlanganani could be our Trade Fair. All it needs is serious marketing and an even wider buy-in from all those involved.
When it was under way, it was somewhat low key.
According to their website, Sanganai/Hlanganani a�� World Tourism Expo is an annual Tourism Trade Fair organised by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. It showcases the widest variety of Africaa��s best tourism products, and attracts international visitors and media from across the world.
The Fair is the successor of Shanyai/Vakatshani, the Zimbabwe International Travel Expo (ZITE) that was held annually at the Harare International Conference Centre. ZITE started as a small expo in 1982 and grew over the years to become one of Africaa��s leading tourism showcases by 2007. The past eight editions of Sanganai/ Hlanganani were a resounding success and attracted the leading African destinations and major world tourism markets such as South Africa, Botswana, Malaysia, China, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Indonesia, India, Italy and many others.
The editions have seen the whole world converging on Zimbabwe in the form of high calibre international buyers as well as exhibitors. The 2016 edition will be held in the countrya��s second largest city, Bulawayo, and is expected to ride on the successes gained by the previous editions and is an opportunity not to be missed.
In other news, local Comedian Carl Joshua Ncube is attempting to break a record. The GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS for a�?Most Comedy Gigs in 7 daysa�? is 30 gigs and was set by an Australian Comedian in 2007. Come 2016 an AFRICAN comedian from Zimbabwe Carl Joshua Ncube has had an application approved to set a WORLD record of 35 gigs performed in 35 venues in four countries in seven days from the 17th to the 23rd of AUGUST. We wish the local artists well. He is surely taking comedy to the next level. We will keep you posted on what happens next. Until next week, be safe . . .
Online Reporter