Zimbabwean contemporary musician and lead member of the band Third Generation Jah Prayzah is set to perform at the inaugural Nyanga Arts Festival set for the weekend of 28-29 October in Nyanga in Zimbabwe’s eastern highlands.
I’m a statement by Nhimbe Trust, Executive Director Josh Nyapimbi who is the producer of the festival, Jah Prayzah will be performing on the 29th along with Feli Nandi and MC Abisha Palmer.
“For musicians, the weekend starts on Thursday 27 October with a Music Business workshop facilitated by industry experts Melody Zambuko, Sam Mataure, and Lisa Sidambe.
“Nyanga Arts Festival is highly inclusive to uplift Zimbabwean cultural and arts practices while promoting and showcasing Nyanga as a tourist destination of choice” he said.
“The festival will be staged at two venues, the Montclair Hotel & Casino and Chief Saunyama’s homestead,” he said.
Montclair Hotel and Casino General Manager Brian Nyakutombwa expressed his excitement saying the event is first of its kind in Nyanga.
“We are very excited at the opportunity to be hosting the inaugural Nyanga Arts Festival over the weekend 28-29 October. It will be the first time the people of Nyanga will be witnessing such an event, and playing host to a lot of visitors from other parts of the country. So we are excited about the preparations that are going on, and the responses we are receiving from the market.
” Everyone is excited that we are going to have the opportunity to be entertained by some of the top trending artists of Zimbabwe, in the form of Jah Prayzah, Feli Nandi, MC Abisha and his crew, as well as the Music According to Percussion ensemble, and other artists. We look forward to some music fireworks and Nyanga is going to be a hive of activity.
“This augurs well for our efforts to promote travel by local Zimbabweans as well as foreigners from other countries in Africa and beyond.
“ So we look forward to receiving quite a big, mixed crowd, and people are going to have a lot of fun. It’s good for the industry, and for the people of Nyanga who will also benefit from all that traffic – those who have their wares, something to sell, a good opportunity to put up their market stalls and be ready to receive visitors.
“We want to thank Nhimbe Trust for coming up with the idea and pulling us all together; it’s a fantastic job they are doing to coordinate everything and I think we are on course to deliver a very exciting, fascinating and memorable event in the form of Nyanga Arts Festival.
” It’s the first for so many things, the first for the festival to be held in Nyanga, a first for Montclair to host it, and a first for JP coming to Montclair, so people must come prepared to have a lot of fun, appreciate Nyanga, and just relax! Post Covid-19 we need fresh air, to reconnect and build those networks again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Head of Corporate Affairs Godfrey Koti said the festival will assist the country in showcasing its domestic tourism, especially in the Eastern Highlands.
“As the ZTA we are absolutely excited, elated, and quite delighted that the Nyanga Arts Festival has come alive and that our partners Nhimbe Trust, who are leading the production element of this one, have left no stone unturned in terms of making sure that we cover all the bases as we prepare for this event.
” It’s something that will assist us in showcasing our domestic tourism, especially the Eastern Highlands. Recently Nyanga played host to the President of Botswana, HE Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, and his family who were quite delighted with the activities and things they saw; they really loved them, so we are seeing Nyanga as a giant which is awakening as far as tourism is concerned.
“There is quite a lot of attention on the destination and we are encouraging Zimbabweans from all walks of live to converge in Nyanga on 28 and 29 October to witness the best that Nyanga has to offer. We are grateful for the partnership we have with Nhimbe Trust as it furnishes and affirms that Zimbabwe is indeed a multi-pronged destination that has arts and culinary activities to offer, as well as culture, the environment and adventure tourism. This is the place for it.
“This festival is in line with National Development Strategy 1 which speaks to domestic tourism, and plays a big role in our ongoing ZimBho campaign (‘ZimBho’ is motivated by the street lingo ‘Bho’, a slang word casually used in everyday language, meaning ‘good’ or showing common understanding), where we connect with our motherland in a special way and take pride in it, saying, “I am Zimbabwean – I am Zimbo – I am ZimBho!”
“It also connects with ‘MICE’ Meetings Incentives Conferences Exhibitions & Events, as we celebrate Zim prowess in hosting events of a high calibre. We are looking forward to growing this one together with Nhimbe Trust,” he said.
A short drive from Harare and even closer from Mutare, the Nyanga National Park covers an area of 472 square kilometres, and the festival venue is the famous Montclair Hotel & Casino, with an authentic ‘stage’ in the surrounding area, a mystical ‘Bira’ (all-night) at the traditional homestead of festival Patron Chief Saunyama at Nyatate, on Friday 28 October. The Bira is a celebration of Nyanga Jekunje Dance and Nyonganyonga / Malimba featuring the ‘Music According to Percussion’ ensemble led by Othnell Mangoma Moyo, the artist ‘Mystery’ and ‘Sarungano’ & The Storytellers Band.
