Dear Zimfest community,
We had hoped to have the Zimfest 2014 online registration website live by May 1 but are experiencing delays. We look forward to making the announcement very soon that https://2014.zimfest.org is ready to accept registrations. In the meantime we appreciate your patience as we are working hard to get the system operational.
Thank you,
Zimfest 2014 Organizing Committee
Opening Night JULY 24 with MOKOOMBA
Zimfest 2014 breaks new ground with an opening night concert featuring Zimbabwe’s hottest band on the international “world music” circuit, Mokoomba! The Zimfest Organizing Committee is proud to present this terrific new Afro-fusion group who have been making a name for themselves worldwide. The band of six young men hails from Victoria Falls, home to the Tonga people, and combines traditional and modern instruments with a rich blend of rhythms. Their vibrant sound, largely originating from spectacular lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza, draws on traditional Tonga music, while also embracing the diverse music cultures of southern Africa.
MOKOOMBA
Mokoomba will perform at 9 PM on Thursday night, July 24th, following the free Zimfest Opening Ceremony in Schneebeck Hall in the University of Puget Sound Music Building. Unlike the Thursday evening outdoor concerts of previous years, Opening Night with Mokoomba will be a ticketed indoor concert, with an advance purchase price of $20 for adults. Tickets will go on sale on the 2014 Zimfest website (2014.zimfest.org) when online registration opens on May 1. Mark your calendars now – we think you will find the $20 ticket a bargain price to pay for one of the premier African dance bands on the global stage!
Reviews of MOKOOMBA’S latest CD, Rising Tide:
“Mokoomba is quite simply the most impressive band Zimbabwe has produced in recent memory. The sheer density of ideas in this session is impressive, but it never feels like the musicians are merely checking off stylistic boxes. This is an A+ international debut… In all, Mokoomba, riding their own rising tide, are the best news we have heard out of Zimbabwe in years.” (Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide, USA, August 2012)
“I’ve seen the future of Afrosound and it is called Mokoomba.” (Thorsten Bednarz, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Germany, October 2012)
Enjoy this video clip of Mokoomba in performance in Belgium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivakk2MPw0U&feature=relmf.
– Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Coordinator
The performer and teacher application deadline was February 28, and this year we received a record number of applications from Zimbabweans. With the help of donations pledged by many of you in the Zimfest community, we will be able to host most, but regretfully not all, of the applicants at Zimfest 2014. You should know that the time period following the application deadline is an extremely busy one for the Organizing Committee, and we are hard at work finalizing invitations and acceptances and working out schedules.
We are thrilled to welcome to Zimfest for the first time (pending visa approvals): dancer Caroline Mangwiro from Bulawayo and marimba specialist Patience Musandirire, who is currently teaching in Botswana. Some of our returning Zimbabwean friends who will be attending this year (also pending visa approvals) are: Cosmas Magaya, Musekiwa Chingodza and Sheasby Matiure, all coming from Zimbabwe; Lucky Moyo, England; Nhapitapi Mbira, Toronto; Julia Chigamba and Chinyakare, Oakland; and Loveness Wesa from Portland. We hope to be able to announce more exciting news about this year’s lineup in the very near future. For further details, see the Zimfest 2014 web site.
Also, Zimfest 2014 marketplace vendor information and applications are now available. We anticipate a variety of vendors selling marimbas, mbiras, hosho, CDs, clothing, accessories and art. Crafts sold at the Marketplace should be of Zimbabwean or related African origin, and in keeping with the spirit and intent of Zimfest.
—Zimfest 2014 Organizing Committee
Dear Zimfest Community,
We have received great news from the 2014 Zimbabwean Music Festival organizing committee! The festival has received applications to teach and perform from 26 Zimbabweans based in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe. Some of these visiting artists are first time participants at the festival, but have dozens of years of experience in Zimbabwean music and dance, both internationally and in Zimbabwe. This increased number of Zimbabwean guests presents significant cost challenges to the festival itself. We would like to host as many of these talented individuals at the festival as possible. Unfortunately, without additional assistance it is impossible for us to host all 26 applicants and have a balanced budget. Therefore, we are asking for your help in offsetting the cost of their attendance at Zimfest 2014.
Between now and March 21st, we will be accepting pledges to help support Zimbabwean teachers and performers at this year’s festival. Based on the pledge amounts that we receive between now and then, we will determine how many Zimbabweans that we can invite to the festival. If you’d like to help, please send an email to with the amount of your pledge. There will be an online mechanism for you to donate for this purpose shortly. If you’d like to donate immediately, you can do so at http://www.zimfest.org/membership/. However, please also send an email with your pledge amount so that we can ensure that the funds go to the right place.
This year’s festival will be July 24-27 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Below are the costs associated with Zimbabwean teacher / performer attendance at the festival:
We are hoping to raise enough funds to cover all expenses for as many of the Zimbabweans as possible. Please kindly donate at whatever level you feel comfortable, and feel free to pass this letter to your friends, colleagues, and other community members. All donations to Zimfest Association are tax-deductible.
We look forward to seeing you, and all the Zimbabwean guests who have applied to come to the festival, at Zimfest in July.
Sincerely,
The Zimfest Board
Greetings potential Zimfest performers and teachers!
Would you submit a late application to the college of your choice and expect to be accepted? Of course not! The deadline for the Zimbabwean Music festival of your choice is only a few short days away! Friday February 28 is the deadline to apply for teaching and performing at Zimfest 2014. Go to http://2014.zimfest.org to log in and enter your application info. Late applicants will be wait-listed.
Thanks,
Claire Jones
2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Greetings Zimfest community,
Applications to teach and perform at Zimfest 2014 in Tacoma close on February 28. Please don’t wait until the last minute to get your application in online! Workshop teacher applicants, please note that we are bringing back the Continuing Education workshops to allow Washington State classroom teachers to earn clock hours at Zimfest. We’re looking for exciting workshops geared towards classroom teachers. If you haven’t seen it, here is the description that appears in the Zimfest teacher application:
Zimfest recognizes the growing popularity of Zimbabwean-style marimbas in schools, and in 2014 will offer continuing education clock hours for Washington State classroom teachers. We are requesting experienced Zimfest instructors to propose workshops that will help provide schoolteachers with background on Zimbabwean culture and/or enrich their knowledge of the great diversity of Zimbabwean music and dance. Possibilities include songs and choral pieces appropriate for school marimba groups and choirs; workshops on Zimbabwean children’s games, drumming, and dancing; and cultural presentations.
Go to http://2014.zimfest.org/applications/ to apply.
Thanks,
Claire
2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Zimfest teacher and performer applications opened January 15th. We are waiting for your applications! In the surveys filled out at Zimfest 2013, some of you said you wanted a wider variety of workshops on cultural topics. If you are a teacher, we want to hear your ideas! Go to http://2014.zimfest.org/applications/
If you are a student of Zimbabwean music, would you attend a workshop to learn Shona or Ndebele and discuss the culture behind the music? How about a panel discussion on preserving intangible culture of which music and language is a major part?
Let us know!
—Zimfest 2014 Organizing Committee
Dear Zimfest Community,
Happy New Year everyone! It’s 2014 and time to submit your Zimfest teacher and performer applications. All applications are available online at http://2014.zimfest.org.
Please mark your calendars for the 2014 Zimbabwean Music Festival July 24-27th at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
Thursday July 24th is Zimfest Pre-Fest with the opportunity to schedule private lessons during the day and the opening ceremony in the evening. On Friday the schedule starts in earnest with three days of workshops, afternoon and evening concerts and the African marketplace.
Please remember that the festival needs your volunteer help! If you are interested in volunteering, please email volunteers [at] zimfest {dot} org.
Best regards on behalf of the 2014 Organizing Committee,
Claire Jones
2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Dear Zimfest Association Friends and Members:
We hope that you are all doing well and are planning to join us for another amazing Zimfest next year at the University of Puget Sound from July 24 through July 27th. The organizing committee is already hard at work with detailed planning for the festival. In parallel, the Zimfest Association Board has been busy creating a stronger and more sustainable organization. We encourage you to review what we’ve been up to on the Zimfest blog which can be found at https://zimfest.wordpress.com.
We are writing at this time to solicit your help. No organization can survive without financial support, and the Zimfest Association is no different. While the annual festivals provide some income to the Association, these funds are unpredictable and are insufficient to sustain and grow the Association. For example, in 2013 the festival made less than $1500 in profits, which greatly limited the funds available to pay our Zimfest coordinator, pay our festival musicians and make charitable donations to other organizations which support Zimbabwe. For this reason, we have instituted an aggressive strategy aimed at raising money via other means. With this letter, we are inaugurating our first Annual Campaign and Membership Drive.
This year, we have changed the way that membership to the Zimfest Association is handled. Beginning January 1st, the term of membership will run for a full calendar year until December 31st. Our goal is to have all recurring Zimfest participants be current members of the organization. The minimal fee of $25 will allow a Regular member to attend the festival without paying a registration fee of $12. Members may choose to have their names published on the website and in the Festival Guide. It is our hope that a healthy dialogue about the festival and association can emerge from a membership that feels a sense of ownership in the Zimfest Association.
While fees from membership are a great start, if we hope to be an organization that will continue to put on festivals for years to come, it will take more money than membership fees alone can raise. For this reason, we are also soliciting tax-deductible donations to the Zimfest Association. While we would ideally like to see each member who is able to renew their membership also make a donation, we realize that our fund-raising efforts often go no farther than the same group of generous donors. Therefore, we are asking each of you to refer a friend or acquaintance to our donations page. Is there someone in your circle of friends or extended family who is familiar with Zimfest, has enjoyed performances by our Zimbabwean guests, or has seen how enriching your involvement in the music has been? If so, ask that person to make a donation to help support Zimbabwean musicians and assist Zimfest on its path towards a sustainable infrastructure.
We hope that you will seriously consider becoming a member of the Zimfest Association for the 2014 calendar year, as well as making or enabling a charitable contribution. If each Zimfest member can find a willing donor we will be well on our way towards sustainability! Your contributions are tax-deductible either in the 2013 or 2014 tax year, depending on when you make your payment. Please visit our Membership and Donation page on our website at http://zimfest.org/membership for instructions on how to make a contribution.
Thanks for all that you do to make Zimfest a success. Happy Holidays…
—The Zimfest Association Board
This year, Zimfest is pleased to announce our support for five non-profit organizations working in Zimbabwe. The Savannah Arts Center, based in the neighborhood of Mbare, on Harare’s southern edge, will receive a donation of $500. Savannah Arts Center has a past history of participating in Zimfest, and sent a small group of musicians to perform at our festival in 2000. The other four projects and organizations will receive grants of $250 each. These are MBIRA, Tariro, the Jangano Club for teaching mbira in schools, administered through Ancient Ways, and the Chinhoyi High School Project, administered through Kutsinhira’s Zimbabwe Community Development Project.
Hi Zimbabwean music lovers,
These Zimfest 2014 “Save the Date” announcement cards will be coming out soon. Take note – continuing education clock hours will be available for Washington State teachers!
Pamberi neChinyakare – Forward with the Past – Pambile nga Masiko
Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Festival Coordinator
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
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
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
