Chronicle
14 December 2010
By Fungai Muderere
THE 2010 edition of the annual Ibumba International Arts Festival, which rolls into life tonight at Stanley Square, is going to be officially opened by Senator David Coltart.
Sen Coltart is the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
At a press conference yesterday, the director of the festival , Simon Mambazo Phiri said all was set for the festival.
“The festival is going to be officially opened tomorrow night by Senator David Coltart. The official opening ceremony shall see a special show with Siyaya, Amawumbo, Ingwenyama, Kwabatsha and Tumbuka,” said Phiri.
He said there is going to be an opening gala that would see the country’s celebrated artists that include Jeys Marabini, Willis Wataffi, , Africa Directions and the man of the moment , Winky D take to the stage with their various art productions from the top drawer.
“After the official opening of the festival, we are also going to have an opening gala at the Main Arena. The likes of Willis Wataffi, Jeys Marabini, , Africa Directions and Winky D will perform at the gala,” he said.
Sunduza , All Stars provided some value entertainment at the press conference with their accapella tunes that were sung with a lot of dexterity hence setting the tone for yet another ,Ibumba International Arts Festival to remember.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that the festival will have a limited number of international participants due to financial and logistical reasons, chief among them being the new festival guidelines that were recently crafted by the , National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ).
The spokesperson for Siyaya, the organisers of the festival, Nkululeko Nkala, said because of financial constraints and other logistical problems, emphasis would be on artistes from around the country and Africa.
“We are going heavily on regionally recognised acts and artistes as we do not have enough funds as a festival to bring acts from Europe. The new censorship board and the , NACZguidelines on festivals also did not give us enough time to get artistes here on time,” said Nkala.
However, Phiri said they were very grateful to their sponsors Culture Fund, , Savannah Tobacco and Sabela Music Projects among others.
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