The Sunday News
Rumbidzai Mbewe,Sunday Life Correspondent
JUNE 30 was a busy day for many people in Bulawayo, with some buying tickets at the last minute and some looking for what to wear for the night whilst organisors were busy beautifying the Large City Hall for the glamorous night in the city.
Upon arrival at the venue, many people were still outside awaiting to enter the place and some were already inside. All that could be seen were camera flashes from all angles, people snapping pictures of themselves. Most of the ladies could not be bothered by the cold weather as they were clad in sexy body hugging clothes some which left little to imagination. The red carpet interviews took a long time than expected which caused the event to start later than expected.
Speaking during the official opening of the Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAAzw), one of the organisors, Nkululeko Nkala said they were grateful to the people of Bulawayo for coming in numbers to support the event.
“We however, apologise for starting late, the red carpet overwhelmed us. We knew this event was going to be big but it’s a lot bigger than we thought,” he said.
He said when they were still deliberating on the awards many years back, they did not think it will capture the attention of so many people. He said after such a long time planning the event, the awards have finally happened and that was a start of a beautiful thing for the people of Bulawayo.
“Ladies and gentlemen when we started talking about these awards, we never thought this would happen, but last year we said its high time we stopped talking and walk the talk and let us make sure this happens and its happening today all because of us. This is not about individuals but about everyone,” he said.
Commenting on the awards, Raisedon Baya who was also part of the organising team, said the event was proof that dreams can become a successful reality.
“Last Friday was proof enough that if you dream a good dream you can gather more than a thousand people under one roof and make a miracle. Last Friday was proof enough that a community that stands together can do amazing things,” he said.
He said the awards were the biggest red carpet event that saw many dresses coming out of the closet. Baya said in future the awards could be the best platform to promote clothing labels and fashion houses in the city.
“This could be one of the perfect platforms to push fashion and clothing labels. Next year we will go all the way to promote it as a dress up event,” he said.
The Bulawayo Arts Awards were happening in the city for the first time to recognise and honour exceptional individuals and collaborative artistic in the city of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South.
They also recognised those born in Bulawayo and practicing art around the world. However, they are not meant to counter any awards or forms of recognition.
— @rumbie_mbewe
