Zimfest News Blog

Posts Tagged "cultural presentations"

Zimfest News and Reminders

Hello all,

As the COVID omicron variants cause new peaks in infections, your Zimfest Organizing Committee is crossing its collective fingers and continuing to work towards a hopeful and safe gathering in Mount Vernon WA June 24-26. Some news and reminders:

  • Beginning today, May 15th, dorm rooms at Skagit College’s Campus View Village can be reserved via Zimfest registration. Hint: if you have already registered for workshops and are in the system, it will be easier to go to the Registration Manager to make the change to your registration. If you are unsure how, see directions on How to Register.
  • We are very sorry to report that we have been unable to line up any food vendors or food trucks for the Fairgrounds and thus there will be no food on-site. We have consulted with local residents and determined that many have gone out of business during the pandemic while others committed to prime locations months ago. Check out our webpage on Dining Options in Mount Vernon. Everyone’s favorite: Skagit Valley Food Co-op for their deli and orders-to-go.
  • Attention all non-food vendors for the African Marketplace: submit your application by May 28 in order to avoid a late fee. Info and application here.
  • Registration is going well, with many signups on the first three members-only days and a steady flow of signups in the last two weeks. Several classes are already full.
  • We would love to see more people registering for the cultural presentations (half-price!), perhaps the most important topics to be addressed at the festival. Click here for Workshop Details, and search on Presentation or Other.
  • Highly recommended by the OC: “Non-Zimbabweans playing Zimbabwean Music: A Discussion of Colonialism, Racism and Responsibility” facilitated by Kelly Takunda-Orphan on Sunday at 9:30 AM. It is so important that we keep these conversations going!

Continue to keep each other safe!
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator

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Zimfest 2022 Applications Are Now Open

Greetings Zimfest community,

Applications for teaching, performing and presenting at Zimfest 2022 in Mount Vernon, WA are now open. Applications close February 28, so please get your applications in soon! We are aware that the omicron variant of COVID-19 is raging across the country, but we are forging ahead with the work of organizing an in-person festival June 24-26 with fingers crossed. Please read the current COVID Safety precautions provided by the ZA Board. 

Information and the application button for (live) performers is here
Information and the application button for those wishing to submit pre-recorded performances or presentations is here
Information and the application button for teachers is here. Once you have submitted a teacher application, you will be sent a link to propose one or more (in-person) workshops.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Performers may be accepted either for free daytime concerts at the Skagit County Fairgrounds or ticketed evening concerts at the Lincoln Theatre. The theater’s COVID health and safety policy appears here.
  • Individuals who are accepted as teachers will be asked to complete a background check if they did not teach at Zimfest in 2019.
  • We love to see workshop proposals for theoretical topics (e.g. African rhythms, song structure and improvisation), songs, and cultural presentations of all sorts – in addition to the ever-popular marimba and mbira.
  • Workshop times: participant feedback indicates that hosho and dance workshops of 90 minutes work well. Many intermediate marimba students have requested longer workshops, and we can schedule a few for 2  1/2 hours. See detailed Workshop Proposal information here (scroll down the page).
  • The Zimfest Organizing Committee is still looking for individuals with expertise in graphic design and concert production (both big jobs!). Please write to volunteers{at}zimfest[dot}org to volunteer or make suggestions!

Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator

Zimfest 2022: Music Dancing Across Borders

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Final Viewing Period for Zimfest Online

Hello good people,

Today (Oct 19)  is the last day you can register for and view the second set of Zimfest Online recordings. Tuesday October 20 is the beginning of the three-week registration and viewing period for the final three Zimfest Online sessions listed below, ending November 9.  

  • Anesu Ndoro – Animality & Humanity: Zimbabwe’s Folktales As Avenues For Social Reflection

  • Claire Jones – A Social and Acoustic History of the Kwanongoma Marimba in Zimbabwe

  • Tedd Judd – Wrapping the Western Mind, Body, Soul, and Community Around Zimbabwean Music

Check out complete descriptions of all the sessions along with presenter biographies on the Zimfest Online page. Once you register for a recording (donation requested), you will be able to view it at any time you wish during the three-week period it is available.

P.S. Be on the lookout for the next edition of Zimfest is Family, featuring the newest member of the Zimfest Family!  Coming soon!

VOTE          VOTE         VOTE         VOTE         VOTE

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Zimfest Online 2nd Viewing Period

Dear Zimfest community,

Reminding you that Monday, Sept 28, is the last day you can register for and view the first three Zimfest Online recordings. Tuesday Sept 29 is the beginning of the three-week viewing period for the next four Zimfest Online sessions, ending October 19.  

  • Linos Wengara Magaya with Tim Lloyd – The Role of the Mbira Within Shona Spiritual Culture

  • Jeff Brahe – Fundamentals of African Rhythm: Triplet (12/8) Version

  • Tanga Pasi (Sinini and Pamela Ngwenya) – Tanga Pasi from Zimbabwe to Germany

  • Zivanai Masango – Mvenge Mvenge Dance Party with Zi

The first two are presentations, and registrants this month have let us know they have appreciated being able to view and the study the material at their leisure. The final two, Tanga Pasi and Zi’s Mvenge Mvenge dance party, are concert sessions – enjoy dancing with Zi and Helen! 

Check out complete descriptions of all the sessions along with presenter biographies on the Zimfest Online page. Once you register for a recording (donation requested), you will be able to view it at any time you wish during the three-week period it is available.

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Zimfest Live recordings access

Greetings Zimfest community,

Our first series of live Zimfest Online educational and performance sessions has concluded. For those of you who missed one or more, we are providing on-demand access to the video recordings on a donation basis. There will be 3 viewing periods with a different set of videos available during each three-week period. Registration is open now for the first three videos available to view from September 8 – 28:

  • Tapiwa Kapurura – Culture as Social Glue in a Challenged Community

  • Claire Jones – Mbira in Zimbabwean Popular Music: An Historical Perspective

  • Tendai Muparutsa – World Music Ensemble: Directing a College Marimba Band – A Williams College Experience

Check out complete descriptions of all the sessions along with presenter biographies on the Zimfest Online page. Once you register for a recording, you will be able to view it at any time you wish during the three-week period it is available.

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August Zimfest Online

Dear Zimfest community,

Two final live presentations wrap up our Zimfest Online festival season this month! Both take place on Saturdays at 5 p.m. PDT. 

  • Aug 22: (Dr.) Claire Jones presents A Social and Acoustic History of the Kwanongoma Marimba in Zimbabwe. Claire’s dynamic look at 50 years of marimbas in Zimbabwe invites your participation. Can you name these tunes?
  • Aug 29: (Dr.) Tedd Judd presents Wrapping the Western Mind, Body, Soul, and Community Around Zimbabwean Music. Ever wondered how we make melodic sense of streams of notes coming from players’ thumbs and hands? – there is a scientific basis to this (follow the science)!  Tedd gets into reasons why many Americans have a difficult time hearing the complex rhythms of marimba and mbira music, but how approaching it like Zimbabweans do is so enriching. 

Please be aware that if you sign up for a session and cannot attend, you can be given access to view the recording. Write to online{at}zimfest{dot}org for assistance.

Continue staying safe and finding ways to connect musically and otherwise!

Zimfest Online Engagement Crew

 

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Zimfest Online August 9 – 29, 2020

Hello Zimfest Folks,

Our Zimfest weekend concert sessions with Sinini and Pamela Ngwenya (July 31), and Zivanai Masango and Helen Masvikeni (August 1) were wonderful, and Dr. Jennifer Kyker continues her teaching of Musekiwa’s mbira version of “Kari Mugomba” with a singing lesson August 9 (today, at 5 PM!). We have registration ready with three more original Zimfest Online presentations for this month. They will take place on Saturday afternoons at 5 PM PDT.

  • Aug 15: Reed College student Anesu Ndoro on “Animality & Humanity: Zimbabwe’s Folktales As Avenues For Social Reflection”
  • Aug 22: Dr. Claire Jones on “A Social and Acoustic History of the Kwanongoma Marimba in Zimbabwe”
  • Aug 29: Dr. Tedd Judd on “Wrapping the Western Mind, Body, Soul, and Community Around Zimbabwean Music”

Register now, we hope to see you online! In September we will advertise opportunities to view the recordings of our most popular Zimfest Online presentations on a donation basis.

Zimfest Online Task Force

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Upcoming on Zimfest Online

Greetings Zimfest community,

  • Register now for July Zimfest Online presentations:  Linos Wengara Magaya on “The Role of Mbira within Shona Spiritual Culture” (July 11) and Jeff Brahe on “Fundamentals of African Rhythm” (July 18).
  • Free – Zoom interview/conversation between Claire Jones and long-time Zimfest teacher and advisor Lucky Moyo is now confirmed for July 25 at 1 p.m. PDT (9 p.m.UK time). Lucky will talk about how he came to cultural activism and his ongoing project Bana BeNgwana Development Trust; more details can be found on Facebook. The event will be on Zoom, and a link will be posted here  and on Facebook two hours before the event. If you cannot make it, don’t worry, a recording will be made for Zimfest’s homepage and Youtube channel.
  • Zimfest 2020 was to have taken place the weekend of July 31-August 2. Stay tuned for special Zimfest Online events that weekend including a dance party featuring Zivanai Masango and Helen Masvikeni!
  • Last but not least, we salute several more of our faithful Zimfest volunteers in the latest edition of Zimfest is Family

   

All Black Lives Matter!

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Zimfest Online in July

Happy (belated) solstice Zimfesters!

  • Our Zimfest Online presentations during June have gone well. Registration is now open for new offerings in July after we take a brief break for the 4th of July. 
  • We are happy to host Linos Wengara Magaya as a virtual presenter along with his bandmate Tim Lloyd on July 11. Based in the UK, their Zimbaremabwe band had to cancel their first US tour this year. See the Overview page for a photo and brief biographical info.
  • Zimfest Coordinator Claire Jones will host an interview with long-time friend Lucky Moyo on July 25th. This conversation is the second in in a series of interviews with individuals and non-profits working in Zimbabwe, made available for free as a public service by Zimfest. The exact time and specifics will be announced here and on Facebook.
  • And don’t forget the “Black Freedom Concert”  featuring Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited streaming live on Facebook from Eugene, OR on Friday, June 26, 2020: Live Stream by Studio 541 Productions on Facebook.

Stay Safe
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator


Music Dancing Across Borders

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Zimfest (and more) Online

Greetings all,

Here are some updates on online activities hosted by Zimfest and others:

  • You still have time to register for our final online presentation in June: Tendai Muparutsa will be sharing about his experiences teaching a world music ensemble at Williams College this Saturday June 20 at 1 PM Pacific Time.
  • More presentations will be forthcoming in July and beyond, and we’ll announce them after making some changes to our registration and tracking system. Meanwhile, we are wondering if any of you would prefer other times than the 1 PM Saturday time slot. If so, please comment on this post, or write to us at online{at}zimfest{dot}org with your suggestions. It’s not easy to fit into everyone’s schedules!
  • Exciting announcement from the Mambira Foundation
    “Black Freedom Concert”
    featuring Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited streaming live on Facebook from Eugene, OR on Friday, June 26, 2020
    Time: 11 am PST, 2 pm EST, 8 pm CAT (Central Africa Time)
    Live Stream – by Studio 541 Productions on Facebook
    Opening: RatieD Band featuring featuring Claire Ratie Dangarembwa Morgan, bandmates Gilbert Zvamaida, John Mambira and others

Friday is Juneteenth: Celebrate and march for freedom! 

 

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Zimfest Online Reminder

Dear Zimfest community,

Reminding you that registration for Zimfest Online presentations is open, and the first by-donation session is this Saturday, June 6 at 1 PM. Tapiwa Kapurura will be presenting about “Culture as Social Glue in a Challenged Community.” Go to Zimfest Online for the registration link.

If you missed it, the Interview with Moyo Rainos Mutamba is now on Youtube and accessible on the Zimfest 2020 Overview page. 

In solidarity,
Zimfest Online Task Force

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Registration Is Now Open for Zimfest 2020 Online

Registration is open for Zimfest Online — a series of Cultural Presentations by experienced Zimfest teachers. The presentations will take place online via Zoom video on Saturdays starting at 1:00 PM Pacific time. Please sign up!

June 6
Tapiwa Kapurura
Culture as Social Glue in a Challenged Community

June 13
Claire Jones
Mbira in Zimbabwean Popular Music: An Historical Perspective

June 20
Tendai Muparutsa
World Music Ensemble: Directing a College Marimba Band – A Williams College Experience

See the Zimfest Online web page for descriptions and the link to registration.

More offerings will be announced later.

In community, virtually,
The Zimfest Online Engagement Task Force

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