BULAWAYO’S oldest township, Makokoba is expected to roar into life today as the 15th edition of the Ibumba Arts Festival kicks off after a brief hiatus. DIVINE DUBE OWN CORRESPONDENT
The Siyaya Arts-organised showbiz is one of the most illustrious arts events which attract local, regional and international artistes to showcase various artistic products in an effort to promote the entertainment industry.
The event which is held annually, flopped last year due to financial glitches bedevilling the local arts sector.
“This year’s festival has been scaled down to three days. The arts festive season in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, will again be marked with the return of Ibumba festival after a year’s break which was greatly caused by sponsor withdrawals in 2012 due to financial constraints,” the festival organisers said in a statement.
“The year 2013 had already shown signs of difficulty for the festival and we had considered cancellation, but against all odds Makokoba is set to be rocked by a celebration of music, dance, theatre and arts.”
The organisers revealed that they had reduced the seven-day jamboree to three days although they did not disclose reasons for trimming down their traditional week-long event.
“The festival was initially planned to span seven days from the 17th to the 22nd of December, but has since been scaled down to three days from 19 to 21 December, 2013,” the statement read.
This year’s arts fiesta, the organisers said, will be run under the theme “Celebrate Living” which they said is meant to unify their audience, partners and the community in general with their evolution towards a better arts sector.
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This year’s extravaganza will see the first night being dedicated to a common genré — imbube dubbed “Imbube and Theatre Night”.
The second day dubbed “Dance night”, will see various local groups entertaining revellers with traditional and contemporary dances while the third and final day dubbed “Music Extravaganza”, will see revellers being treated to music while they play various games.
