THE Midlands Arts and Culture Festival (MACfest) which was supposed to start on September 15 in Gweru has been postponed, event organisers have said.
Moses Mugugunyeki Sub Editor
The seventh edition of the arts and culture fiesta which has become an integral part of the City of Progress’ entertainment calendar will be held at a later date.
“MACfest Zimbabwe 2014 was initially scheduled for September 15 to 20 2014. However, due to circumstances beyond our control we have since decided to move the dates, details of which will be communicated to you soon,” Joe Wailer, creative director for MACfest, said in a statement.
However, when pressed to disclose the reasons behind the postponement, Wailer said it was mainly due to logistical challenges.
“The event is on and it will be big. It’s only we have some logistical hurdles that need to be sorted out first.”
MACfest, a brainchild of Wailer and registered under the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, has over the years grown to include a comprehensive programme of culture-related activities from the Midlands province.
Co-ordinated by the Midlands Arts and Culture Centre, the festival is a four-day event that showcases music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literal arts and film. Since its inception in 2008, the event has been held in the month of September annually.
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Wailer said this year they have pulled out all the stops to ensure activities cater for different age groups.
“We are going to have a variety of family programmes during the course of the event,” Wailer said.
“Our activities will have a family appeal and most of them would be held during the day to accommodate families.”
He said during previous editions, they had booked big acts to headline the festivities — such as the likes of Jeys Marabini, Roki and Mafriq — while content from the Midlands province has always been the mainstay, with Bob Nyabinde and Man Soul Jah giving memorable performances in recent years.
“We usually have one or two big acts, but this year we are having more than four,” Wailer said.
2010 Oscar award winner, Prudence Mabhena and comedian Carl Joshua Ncube are some of the big acts expected to headline this year’s festival. MACfest has incorporated tourism in its programmes.
During last year’s event delegates visited some tourists spot on the periphery of Gweru as part of the festival’s domestic tourism package.
“We have integrated tourism into our cultural activities with the aim of promoting domestic tourism,” Wailer said.
“MACfest has entered into partnership with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.”
He said Culture Fund has already availed $6 000 for this year’s festival.
