Home › Zimfest News Blog › Posts Tagged "Zimbabwean music and culture"

Zimfest News Blog

Posts Tagged "Zimbabwean music and culture"

2014 Zimfest Theme and Call for Volunteers

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Greetings Zimfest Community,

I’m excited to be named the Festival Coordinator for the next Zimbabwean Music Festival (July 24-27, 2014), and I think you will enjoy the lovely campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma! In consultation with Cosmas Magaya and Lucky Moyo, we have agreed on a theme for Zimfest 2014, inspired by a saying in chiShona from Ambuya Beauler Dyoko: Pamberi neChinyakare—meaning Forward with the Past/Tradition or Pambili nga Masiko (siNdebele). Sekuru Cosmas says the theme is perfect because we need to counter the attack on traditional practices from some of the Apostolic/Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe; Lucky agrees that it is a great statement and likes that it connects us with Ambuya.

We have set the date of January 15, 2014 for online applications to open on the festival website at https://2014.zimfest.org. There is much to do before that date, and I am now recruiting team members to work on festival organizing. Helping out with the annual Zimfest gathering is a great way to give back for all the joy and enrichment you have experienced through this wonderful music

What You Can Do To Help

If you have the time and commitment, volunteer for the core organizing committee, members of which meet regularly via skype and take responsibility for major areas of the festival: Teacher and Workshop Scheduling, Concert planning and production, Marketplace and Vendors Coordination, Volunteer Coordinator.

If you have small chunks of time, there are many other tasks that you can do leading up to (as well as at) the festival: publicity and marketing; festival guide article solicitation, proofreading, editing and production; website content proofing and updating; T-shirt production and sales; airport pickups/drop-offs.

If you are a group that would like to work on a project together, I envision several opportunities: work party to put together registration packets; festival decorations; festival signage; festival site cleanup crew.

Please let me know if and how you can help: e-mail claire [at] zimfest {dot} org

Pamberi neChinyakare – Forward with the Past – Pambili nga Masiko

Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Festival Coordinator

Posted In: Festival News
Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
No Comments

Zimfest Funding Requests Due December 5

Posted on by Zimfest Association Board Posted in Zimfest Association News

Dear members of the Zimfest community,

On behalf of the Zimfest Association board, I would like to communicate with you briefly about our commitment to making charitable donations to other non-profit organizations.

Our history of giving

In the past, the Zimfest Association has frequently disbursed amounts of up to $8,000 in festival proceeds, split between several worthy charitable causes. These organizations have included MBIRA, Ancient Ways, Tariro, Patience Chaitezvi’s Chinhoyi High School Project, the Dispatch Foundation, and the Portland-Mutare Sister City organization.

Our unique current circumstances

As the festival continues to evolve, each year brings both new promises and new challenges. This year, the Zimfest Association has committed to putting more of the festival’s proceeds toward ensuring our long-term stability and sustainability. This effort has taken several forms, including the hiring of a new part-time festival coordinator, as well as small payments for evening performers. Combined with last year’s festival, which did not result in a large profit, this decision has meant that the Zimfest Association has significantly less money to contribute to other non-profit causes this year.

Reaffirming the principle of giving – a call for proposals

At our recent board meeting, the Zimfest board made the unanimous decision to continue making charitable contributions this year, reaffirming our commitment to the principle of giving back to Zimbabwean communities through development efforts. However, we wish to advise applicants that available funds are very small this year. As a result, we may offer funding to a single organization alone, or give much smaller amounts to a number of applicants.

Applicants who wish to be considered for charitable donations must submit a formal proposal by December 5th for consideration at our next board meeting. This applies equally to all organizations, regardless of prior history as a Zimfest Association grantee.

For further information, please feel free to email me:
jennifer [at] zimfest {dot} org

Sincerely,
Jennifer Kyker

Posted In: Zimfest Association News
Tagged With: , , , , ,
No Comments

Volunteer for Zimfest Association

Posted on by Zimfest Association Board Posted in Festival News, Zimfest Association News

Have you always wanted to help with Zimfest but don’t have time to join the Zimfest board or be part of an organizing committee? Join me in becoming one of a large group of short-term project volunteers who would be available to help future event planning in a different and creative way. Choose your project! Match your skills and ideas! Have fun! Build the community! Build your resume! Work with others, work by yourself, two hours, one month, etc – your choice. The Zimfest Board has come up with a list of ideas below, or create your own!

Just send an email to za-volunteers [at] zimfest {dot} org if you would like to be part of this valuable team. Let me know your interest and ideas and I’ll help you with your project now or in the future.

Lisa McKerlick
2011 Zimfest Organizing Committee member

Zimfest Association Volunteer Topics (and examples of tasks)

Membership
Newsletter(s) content and editing
Sending renewal notices

Fund Raising
Annual Campaign for donations and contributions
Researching funding sources
Grant writing
Speaker to present on Zimfest at donor events?
Fund-raising events?
Zimfest brochure?

Zimfest Sites
Identification
Site visits
Liaison w/ site officials?

Zimbabwean Visas
Applications
Collecting supporting documentation

Zimbabwean Visitors
Currently this role is assigned to an OC member, but it would be good to have year round communication and assistance for potential visitors

Website
Overhaul!
Design
Content

Festival Decorations
Update what we have
Fireproofing
New stuff
Storage in between festivals

Special Assignments
Work on special one-time-only projects administered by ZA Board – tbd

Technical Needs
More expertise for the Tech committee
Continue to improve online registration system

Festival Marketing
Targeted marketing (i.e. african student unions, college multicultural centers, etc)
Promotion within community where Zimfest is being held

Posted In: Festival News, Zimfest Association News
Tagged With: ,
No Comments

Announcing Zimfest 2014 and Zimfest Association Blog

Posted on by Zimfest Association Board Posted in Festival News, Zimfest Association News

Dear Zimfest Association Membership and Participants:

We hope that this communication finds you well. It’s been a few months since the amazing Zimfest in Tacoma! Since then the board has been working hard to begin planning Zimfest 2014. We have finally set a location and date for Zimfest 2014 – which will be held at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA from July 24-27th. We will send out more information with details in the next month or two.

In the meantime, we’d like to make you aware of several important items:

1) We’ve decided to setup a blog which will be used by the board to communicate with Zimfest membership. The blog is at zimfest.wordpress.com. You will be able to subscribe to the blog by clicking on the link on the right-hand sidebar. Once subscribed, you will receive an e-mail whenever we post to the blog. Among other things, we will be posting regular synopses of Zimfest board meetings on this site which can be reviewed by anyone interested. In addition, we are hoping that this blog will become a mechanism for members to provide regular feedback to the board.

2) We hope to access the skills and talents of the community through a more vibrant volunteer coordination mechanism. Please keep your eyes out for an email from our new Zimfest Association Volunteer coordinator, Lisa McKerlick, with more details on how this will work and the type of assistance that we’re seeking.

3) We are pleased to announce that Claire Jones has accepted the position of Zimfest coordinator for 2014. This is a part-time, paid position in which Claire will be the point-person for Zimfest 2014. In addition to coordinating and heading the organizing committee, Claire will be working to raise grant monies and spearhead an annual giving campaign to help make Zimfest more sustainable.

4) With the recent resignation of MyLinda King from the board for personal reasons, there are now 6 active board members as listed below.

Tsitsi Hantuba – Treasurer
Jennifer Kyker-Bangoura – Member at Large
Paul Mataruse – Member at Large
Amy Robinson – Secretary
David Simon – President
Alex Weeks – Member at Large

Ideally, we would like to recruit 1-2 additional board members over the coming month or two. If you are interested in joining the board, please send a letter expressing your interest to the board at . Alternatively, if you are aware of individuals who you believe might have the skills and interest in joining the board, please let us know at .

5) We would like to grow our Zimfest Association membership to accurately reflect the number of people/families that enjoy Zimfest year after year. Starting in 2014, annual memberships should be renewed at the start of the calendar year. We are planning to conduct the membership drive and the above mentioned annual giving campaign at the same time early in the year. An active membership will still entitle you to waive any registration fees for that year’s Zimfest. If you renewed your membership after Zimfest 2013 your term will automatically run from Jan. 2014 to Dec. 31st 2014. Please mark your calendars to join or renew your ZA membership in January. You can do this online at www.zimfest.org/membership (make sure you scroll all the way down). If you have questions please contact MyLinda King at .

We look forward to a vibrant dialog between the board and the Zimfest community. We hope that this email finds you all well.

–The Zimfest Association Board of Directors

Posted In: Festival News, Zimfest Association News
Tagged With: , , , , , ,
No Comments