The Sunday News
Raisedon Baya
LAST week I was in the capital for the Harare International Carnival, held courtesy of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. This was an education trip as Intwasa, in partnership with Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Ministry of Tourism, is also planning Bulawayo’s 1st Street Carnival scheduled for end of September. The Harare Carnival was huge. There were over 100 groups that participated. Over two dozen foreign countries were represented and as usual the Brazilians lit the event. More than 70 000 people must have attended the carnival. Drinks flowed from everywhere and everyone was in a celebratory mood.
And to think the week before the carnival trended on social media over the issue of Zodwa Wabantu. Most people thought her absence would dampen the spirit of carnival goers and spoil the fun. But this did not happen as only a handful of people in the crowds were screaming for Zodwa.
The carnival totally disrupted the everyday routine of Harare life — which is basically what every good event worth its salt must do — disrupt the status quo. I loved the diversity of the participants and their presentations — bikers, clowns and comedians, acrobats, drum majorettes, cheerleaders, traditional dancers, bands, churches and corporates that were simply there for visibility. With the numbers that were in the streets and at the final point the carnival was just too good an opportunity to advertise. Pity that most of our corporates did not see that opportunity.
The most important lesson learnt from the Harare carnival is that a carnival is not just a march or a parade or just an event but must be an unforgettable experience. People out there are looking for unforgettable experiences. Different experiences. And this needs serious planning and resources. The carnival concert was something else — it had big names in the likes of Jah Prayzah, Soldier Love, Winky D, Oskido and many others.
The stage was world class — provided by Big Time Strategic Group led by Justice Maphosa who originally hails from Gwanda. The Harare experience was indeed eye opening and hopefully a few years from now Bulawayo will have a carnival as big as what we witnessed in Harare.
September is the month of Intwasa and as has been previously announced the festival is taking place side by side with Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo. The synergies between Sanganai/Hlanganani and Intwasa are ideal and complementary. Festivals are meant to be drivers of tourism — both domestic and International. As usual there are events to look forward to during Intwasa. The City Hall car park will be a beehive as usual with both music and traditional dance performances by Bulawayo’s top groups. The classy Women, Wine and Words will feature three international spoken words supported by the British Council.
The festival is also expecting an award winning play from the United States of America. Our own Iyasa have collaborated with a Germany theatre company and will be presenting that theatre piece during the festival. High schools will also be clashing for the big drama prize under the Plan High Schools drama competition whose theme this year is Children in Conflict with the Law. For literature lovers the festival will also be hosting two book launches by Ericah Gwetai and Amabooks publishers. For visual arts the gallery will be introducing four young artistes with their exhibition BUYA. So folks lets meet month end and enjoy what Bulawayo has to offer in terms of the arts.
