FESTIVAL lovers are in for a treat for the next six days as today marks the opening of the 15th edition of Zimbabwe’s classical and premiere arts feté, the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa), running under the theme Switch On.
Simbarashe Manhango
The festival keeps on getting bigger each year and has grown to be one of the major festivals recognised in Africa for its continued support to local artistes and a display of array cultural exhibitions.
The opening show tonight, Light Up The Darkness slated for the Harare Gardens at 7:30pm, will certainly be one of the key highlights to look forward to as it customarily sets the tone for the fete each year since inception.
“Feel it, it is here. We hope that by now everyone is already switched on and it will be a very fascinating and entertaining week of fun and exchange of ideas. What more with the exciting line–up of artistes that are set to grace the stage, the festival wouldn’t be better than this,” said Manuel Bagorro, the founding artistic director of Hifa.
The opening set draws its inspiration from this year’s theme that has for several weeks drawn festival goers and Hifa partners to anticipate a thrilling showcase, hence it is a story borrowed from Doris Lessing’s piece titled The Sun Between Their Feet.
It is a compelling set that narrates and tells of the repeated determined attempts of two dung beetles to scale the heights of a rock with their precarious cargo while the concept resonates with the continued quest and search for enlightenment within Zimbabwe’s artistic community.
The night will feature several artistes that are also part of the exciting line-up of performing artistes within different disciplines such as dance, theatre, music, spoken word, craft as well as visual arts.
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Directed by multiple American award winner Brooke Ciardelli, the set will feature South African legendary music icon Steve Dyer, and accomplished pianist Kyle Shepherd, who will also be joined by other great Zimbabwean jazz artistes.
The peak of all the musical shows on display will probably be Jah Prayzah’s closing performance on Sunday and Queen Mashie’s set at the Coca-Cola Stage on Saturday together with well-travelled and fun-loving Bongo Love’s performance slated for the third day of Hifa with their throbbing beats.
The other intriguing cultural exhibition set to spice up this year’s event is the Hifa Fashion Festival that will present an array of creative local and international handmade accessories and artistic designs together with leading fashion trends.
All of these accessories will be available for sale in the Royal Norwegian Embassy’s Global Quarter.
Comedy lovers will also get the chance to laugh their lungs out when some of the greatest local comedians such as Carl Joshua Ncube grace the stage together with international comedians.
It will certainly be six days of fun, dance, music and drama as Zimbabwe joins the international world in celebrating diversity in the arts.
