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Posts by Claire Jones

Zimfest Registration Closing August 1

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Hello all,
Countdown: 10 days until Zimfest 2018!

Here is your final reminder that Zimfest registration will close down completely August 1 at midnight. Registration for housing and dining is already closed.

  • No more workshop signups or changes may be made after midnight August 1. During the festival, students may not drop or transfer to another workshop unless the workshop they are enrolled in has been significantly changed by the festival organizers (such as a different teacher.) The reason for this is that if a workshop with low enrollment remains on the schedule and people are then allowed to drop out of it, Zimfest would be contractually obligated to pay the teacher even if s/he had no students to teach!
  • Online purchase of concert tickets ends at midnight August 1. Purchase your tickets in the next three days while the advance sale prices are still in effect!
  • Online signups for volunteers will close at midnight August 1. Help us out by signing up for shifts now so that we have a clear idea of what help is needed when the festival starts.
  • Another reminder for performers: if your band’s lineup has changed from the people you listed in your application, please send your updated band roster to performers{at}zimfest{dot}org. All performers requesting complimentary entrance must be listed on the band roster prior to the festival and may enter only one concert for free. Band members, make sure your contact person has taken care of this!

Woo hoo! See you soon in Monmouth!
Claire and the OC

 

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Zimfest Updates and Requests

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Hello Zimfest community,

The countdown continues: 17 days until we meet again in Monmouth! As you probably know, registration for Zimfest housing and dining has closed. Signup for workshops and volunteering will close on midnight August 1. At that time the Organizing Committee will put the final touches on plans and programming for Zimfest 2018 at Western Oregon University August 9-12.

  • We will be cancelling low-enrollment workshops (those with 0, 1 or 2 students) on July 26, so if there is something you have your eye on, be sure to sign up before then or it may disappear from the schedule! Did you know that Cultural Presentation workshops are only $10 per hour? We would hate to have to cancel any of these educational sessions, so please peruse what is available on the Cultural Presentations page and sign up to deepen your knowledge of Zimbabwean culture.
  • Mbira instruments needed for mbira workshops: if you have signed up for an mbira workshop, some instruments will be provided in the tuning called for in the workshop description. If you own or can borrow an instrument, do bring it to the workshop. Further, if you can lend mbira instruments in the following tunings, please bring them to the Registration desk, and we promise we’ll take good care of them: nyunga nyunga; mbira dzavadzimu/nhare – Magaya standard tuning, also G tuning.
  • Hosho are supplied for hosho workshops thanks to Craig LaFollette of Marimbaworks, but if you have a favorite pair of your own, bring them!
  • Mary Shales’s Gofundme campaign to raise money for a plane ticket for Patience Musandirire did well for the first few days, and Zimfest was able to advance the money to buy him a plane ticket! However, the campaign has stalled at $945, of which Gofundme will keep a high percentage. If the campaign reaches $1500, Patience will not need to sacrifice his workshop earnings to help pay for the ticket. If you wish to donate, this is the direct link is gf.me/u/jtysvt. Tatenda, Siyabonga!

Festival Coordinator Claire Jones
The Zimfest 2018 Organizing Committee

More important now than ever:

Music Dancing Across Borders

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COUNTDOWN TO ZIMFEST 2018

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Hello all,

It’s 23 days until we meet again in Monmouth!

If you are arriving on Thursday, August 9, WE NEED YOU to help us transform WOU campus into Zimfest 2018. We build stages and decorate them, we move instruments into classrooms, we put signs around campus, and so much more…

We literally build the festival!  Let’s do this!  Sign up on the Volunteers page.
This is a great way to get a head start on connecting with old friends and making new ones.

– Volunteers Intern Heron Stombock

Some other tidbits from the OC:

  • Housing and dining registration ends this Friday, July 20 at midnight. Tell your friends who’ve been putting it off to do it now before it’s too late! (Sorry, camping and RV spots have sold out.)
  • There’s a new chef in charge of WOU dining, offering a greater variety of options. Check out the weekly Valsetz menu.
  • We need some coolers for the indoor and outdoor Green Rooms. Please write to claire{at}zimfest{dot}org if you can bring one – especially one with wheels!

See you  there!
– Festival Coordinator Claire Jones

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Zimbabwean Guests

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Greetings,

Many of you have heard that we have had sad news about several Zimbabwean teachers and performers who are unable to come to this year’s festival. Polyphony Marimba had applied for visas for Tawanda Mapanda and Barnabas Ngalande. Their petitions were still not approved by the time the group was ready to leave for their tour, so they had to abandon the applications. They will try again for next Zimfest! The OC has worked hard to engage several experienced teachers to take over their workshops or offer others in their place.  Please consult the Festival Updates and Workshop Changes page for all workshop adjustments and replacement teachers.

Jacob Mafuleni and Martha Thom, both veterans of prior Zimfests, were inexplicably denied their visas at the US Embassy in Harare. This was devastating news to Dana Moffett and Matanho Project, their sponsor, who worked very hard to bring Jacob and Martha back to the US. However, their son Abel Mafuleni has been granted his visa and is coming. We look forward to Abel’s workshops and performance representing the Mafuleni Family and Tsoro Arts. Again, check the website for Workshop Changes; you may find some enticing new offerings on the workshop schedule!

Finally, we are not out of the woods yet. Marimba specialist Patience Musandirire has received his visa and was intending to purchase his own plane ticket as he has no sponsor. However, because of the drastic shortage of foreign currency in Zimbabwe, he has been unable to acquire enough US dollars for the ticket. He needs financial assistance. What would help most at this point is for someone to help him by setting up a GoFundMe campaign here in the US. If you think you can help, please write to the OC as soon as possible at 2018 {at} zimfest {dot} org.

Music Dancing Across Borders
Help these folks cross the the border!

Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator
On behalf of the 2018 Organizing Committee

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Calling All Drums

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Greetings Zimfest community,
A few quick messages from your Zimfest 2018 organizing committee:

  • As always, we are in need of hand drums – Zimbabwean style ngoma, congas or similar ones – for our drumming classes. Please let us know whether you can lend one or more by writing teachers{at}zimfest{dot}org or just bring them to the Registration desk Thursday Aug. 9 at the festival. We promise to take good care of them for the weekend!
  • For several years we have been racking our brains over how to organize the seating in the concert hall to provide both a dancing space and a sitting space with a view of the performers. It has been difficult during prior festivals for those who want to sit during the performances to actually see them, and we want to do better about this. Please spend a few minutes thinking about the problem and respond to this post with any creative ideas: write 2018{at}zimfest{dot}org.
  • Did you know Zimfest is run mostly by volunteers?  Yes!  It’s folks like you and me, lovers of Zimbabwean music, who share the experience of both ‘working’ the festival and ‘attending’! How can you help? Sign up NOW at the Volunteer Signup page to help with festival tasks!

Tatenda! Thank you! 
Zimfest 2018 OC

Music Dancing Across Borders

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Festival Reminders

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Hello Zimfest Folks,

Happy Father’s Day! We still have another month to go before registration for Zimfest housing and meals closes on July 20th. While meals may be purchased in person by commuters, there is no guarantee that there will be any dorm rooms available to rent onsite, so be sure to sign up before the deadline. I can see that there are few camping/RV sites left, and once they are gone, no more can be made available. For those who are hoping for single rooms designated as ‘quiet’ in Ackerman Hall, we will be adding some 4th floor rooms to the registration menu very soon.
Some miscellaneous reminders:

    • To Teachers and Performers: the Organizing Committee reports that only one third of you have signed and returned your contracts or agreements. Please people, the new electronic contract is so convenient and easy, you can complete it on your smart phone! We need one of these signed by everyone who is teaching or performing before the festival. If you didn’t receive or cannot find your official acceptance email with the link to the contract/agreement, please write to teachers(at)zimfest(dot)org or performers(at)zimfest(dot)org as appropriate and ask for a replacement email to be sent.
    • Are any of you associated with non-profit organizations or for-profit businesses who would like to advertise in the 2018 Festival Guide? If so, please write to chatbetty(at)gmail(dot)com for information. Our prices are very reasonable – you can immortalize your business by placing an ad in the guide! Ads must be submitted to us by July 4.
    • Speaking of deadlines, Marketplace Vendor applications close July 16th. We would love to hear from you, vendors. Go to the Vendor Information and Application page to apply.

Enjoy the summer weather!

Best regards,
Claire and the 2018 Zimfest OC

Music Dancing Across Borders

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Zimfest Organizing Committee Notes

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Dear Zimfest community,

Zimfest 2018 registration has been open nearly a month, and it’s time for a word from the organizing committee (OC).  After a frantic “feeding frenzy” the first few days, registrations have slowed down to a steady trickle; we are up to 259 registrations as I write this.  There have been a few bugs, but things have been proceeding smoothly the last couple of weeks. Please consult How to Register, and if you experience any problems registering, write to registration(at)zimfest(dot)org and an OC member will help you out. Workshop signups for Friday August 10 have been especially heavy, such that many workshops on the first day are already full. We have added two workshops and made some adjustments so that there are more spaces available that day. However, there are plenty of workshop spaces available on Sunday. A lot is happening on the final day of the festival, so make your plans to stick around and take advantage!

A few brief notes:

  • Check the Festival Updates and Workshop Changes page for notification of all workshop additions and adjustments.
  • The Concert Schedule has been posted on the website, and performer biographies will be available soon.
  • We are aware that the Zimfest 2018 location in Monmouth, OR can be difficult to get to on public transport. Use our Ride Board for offering or requesting rides from nearby destinations such as Portland and Salem.
  • If you have signed up for the workshops that you want, and checked the concert schedule for the bands you want to hear, now is the time to sign up for your volunteer shifts. If we have 259 registrants, we’d love to see 259 volunteers signed up – Zimfest runs on your energy!

See you in Monmouth in August,
Claire Jones and the Zimfest 2018 OC

Music Dancing Across Borders

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Zimfest 2018 Registration Is Open May 3

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Dear Zimfest community,
We are pleased to announce the launch of Zimfest 2018 online registration today, May 3 at 5:00 a.m.! Go to the How to Register page on our website for links to all Festival offerings, tips on negotiating our new registration system, and the button for New Registrations (see “Register using RegFox”). More advanced topics including registering multiple people and making changes to your registration are also addressed on this page.

Further information about Zimfest 2018 programming will emerge in the weeks to come, but we’d like to point out one of the strengths of this year’s workshop schedule right now: the large number of workshops that integrate marimba with singing, dancing, drumming and/or hosho. These sessions, offered by Zimfest teachers in response to our Call for Applications, bring home to students the reality of musical practice in Zimbabwe, the fact that music and dance are rarely separate activities. Teachers, get your students dancing and singing along with marimba from middle school onward, just like Zimbabweans! To be fair to all registrants, we are asking leaders of student groups to not register members of their groups for more than half the maximum enrollment of any specific workshop. Thus, if a marimba workshop has a maximum enrollment of 8, no one group should register for more than 4 of the spots.

Heads-up: you will find the following features of the 2018 registration system different from previous years:

  • We are charging room rental by the room, not by the person, and the first person to register will be charged the entire rental amount for the number of days the room is to be occupied (the other person is “the roommate”). Please be aware that you will not be able to choose specific rooms as in past years. See On-Campus Housing for details.
  • WOU is requiring that all participants rooming in the dorms for one or more nights purchase one of three meal cards. Requirements and plans are described in detail on the On-Campus Dining.
  • Registration is to be paid with credit cards (not PayPal) this year. You will need to pay in full at the time of registration; you cannot hold rooms or places in workshops without paying for them.

See you in Monmouth, August 9-12!
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator

Zimfest 2018 – Music Dancing Across Borders

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Zimfest 2018 Delay of Registration

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Hello Zimfest community,

The Zimfest 2018 Organizing Committee and Tech Team will not be going live with online registration today, our target date of May 1. We have discovered some issues with our new registration software and want to make sure we can work around them to make the registration process go as smoothly as possible. Look for another message later this week (possibly as early as tomorrow!) that registration is open.

The good news is that we are pleased to have completed most Zimfest 2018 content and supporting information and published it on the website. You are welcome now to browse through the Workshop List, acquaint yourself with the 2018 teachers, and/or explore the 2018 festival website for information about the schedule and housing and dining options. The 2018 homepage is a good place to start your explorations.

      • Don’t forget that the Registration Fee (now $15) is waived for Zimfest Association members. Become a ZA member now or renew your membership before you register for Zimfest 2018. An individual membership costs $25; there are special rates for couples and families, and a teacher membership for leaders of student groups.
      • Announcing festival events on the website: We are excited this year to present a panel discussion on the topic of Cultural Appropriation. This will take place Saturday morning August 11 from 9:30 to 11:30 when no workshops or concerts will be happening. All Zimfest participants are invited to attend.
      • Browse the volunteer tasks to decide how you’d like to contribute at the festival, or claim your shift(s) now on the Volunteer Signup page.
      • Reminder: Vendor applications are open on the website. We look forward to a varied and exciting African Marketplace this year!

Look for more news very soon,

Your Zimfest 2018 Organizing Committee &
The Fabulous Zimfest Tech Team

Zimfest 2018 – Music Dancing Across Borders

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Zimfest 2018 Updates

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Greetings Zimfest community,
Following the end of the application period, March and April have been very busy and productive times for the Zimfest 2018 Organizing Committee and Tech Team. As we work towards the target date of May 1 to open online registration, we want to let you know that:

  • Vendor applications for the Marketplace are now being accepted on the Vendor Information and Application page on the website. The deadline for vendor applications is July 16, 2018.
  • The Organizing Committee has announced this year’s Zimbabwean guest teachers and performers on the 2018 homepage – a truly stunning and star-studded lineup!
  • While you are on the Zimfest 2018 homepage, please note that we have been adding informational pages as they become available. Click on the overhead menus for the festival schedule, housing and dining info, etc.
  • We received what might be a record number of workshop proposals and performance applications, requiring difficult decisions on the part of the Organizing Committee. We now have a workshop grid and tentative performance schedule, and teachers and performers are being notified of the status of their applications . Contracts will be sent later in the month.

Enjoy the spring weather!
Claire and the Organizing Committee

Zimfest 2018: Music Dancing Across Borders

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Letter from the Zimfest Board

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Zimfest Association News

Dear Zimfest Community,

We hope you have had an excellent start to the year and that you are looking forward to joining us in Monmouth, OR for Zimfest 2018! The Festival Organizing Committee has been hard at work to create a fun and memorable festival experience for attendees, teachers and performers. We can support them and encourage their work by increasing volunteer participation and raising much-needed funds.

Here are a few ways you can help:

  • Volunteer on the Organizing Committee: The Organizing Committee is still in need of volunteers to fill key roles such as Afternoon Stage Manager and Teacher/Workshop Coordinator Assistant. If you are interested, please contact Zimfest Festival Coordinator Claire Jones at claire (at) zimfest (dot)org / 206 328-4011, and/or Volunteer Coordinator Carla Starck at volunteers (at )zimfest (dot) org.
  • Contribute to Fundraising Efforts. As a non-profit organization, donations, membership fees, and the funds reserved after each festival are crucial for financing festival expenses.
    • Donate in the Zimfest 2018 Fundraising Drive. This year, we are aiming to raise $8,000 towards the cost of:
      • Transportation, room and board for the group of talented Zimbabwean teachers
      • Implementing the new festival registration system
      • Purchasing marimbas to augment the supply of instruments at the festival
    • Leverage Employer Matching programs. Employer matching donation programs are an easy way to maximize the value of your donations.
    • Host fundraising events in your local community. Some fun ideas of raising funds in support of Zimfest include benefit concerts, dance parties, dinners and silent auctions. Share your events on the Zimfest Facebook Page so that we can see all the exciting events that are being planned to support Zimfest 2018.
    • Sign up for or renew your Zimfest membership. By becoming a member of Zimfest Association, individuals and families can support the long-term viability of Zimfest. https://zimfest.org/about/membership/
    • Support Zimfest through other channels. See https://zimfest.org/about/support-zimfest/ for other ways to contribute to the Zimfest Association

As members of our vibrant Zimbabwean music community, we all must contribute the money and volunteer hours that are needed to keep the Zimfest spirit alive and thriving this year and beyond. Your response to this call will help us gauge our ability to host Zimfest 2019, so please show your support. If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact us at board (at) zimfest (dot) org.

Tatenda/Siyabonga!

Zimfest Association Board

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Maharimba Instruments for Sale

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Zimfest Association News

Greetings friends,

The Maharimbas of Corvallis, OR have retired after 30 years of performing, and are selling their marimbas. The set consists of five instruments, all Padauk keys:

Bass from C (bottom note), D E F G A B C D E (top note)
Comes with a strong bench

Baritone from G (bottom note) to A B C D E F G A B C D E (top note)
Comes with a strong bench

Two tenors, one lead—all have three octaves, with no F#

There is also a set of Matador Timbales on a professional stand, and a set of percussion instruments on a professional stand—2 bells and 3 blocks, and room for more.

Finally, there are 2 sets of bass mallets, and 2 sets of baritone mallets. Everything is in good working order. PVC pipes underneath, keys, etc.

The Maharimbas

These instruments were made by Peter Bush in Estacada.

We are offering the full set for $1650, or any best offer over that! Will deliver to most places in Oregon for the cost of fuel. Please contact Sara Swanberg via email at saraswan (at) casco (dot) net.

This message is posted on behalf of Sara Swanberg and the Maharimbas  while we wait for Dandemutande to come back online!

Fambai zvakanaka Maharimbas!

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