We are halfway through the application period for Zimfest 2019 but do not have half of the teacher or performer applications we usually have. We have heard from very few North American teachers and bands and wonder where you are. If you are hoping to teach, or your band is hoping to perform, get your applications in ASAP!
Go here for Performance applications
Go here for Teacher applications
and check Applications announcement for suggestions on workshops for this year
We are working once again with the wonderful graphics artist Rachel Edson for Zimfest 2019 graphics needs, but that doesn’t mean we are not open to creative input from the rest of the community. Let us know if you have any artistic ideas appropriate for incorporation into the 2019 posters and/or the festival guide: a painting, drawing, collage or illustration of any medium will do. Send your ideas referencing the Zimfest theme of Music Dancing Across Borders to 2019[at]zimfest{dot}org.
Best of 2019 to all,
Claire on behalf of
The Zimfest 2019 Organizing Committee
Applications are now open for the 2019 Zimbabwean Music Festival. To apply to teach or perform at this year’s festival, go directly to the Teacher Application Information and/or Performer Application Information pages. Applications will remain open until February 28, 2019.
If you are applying to teach, you will be able to propose as many workshops as you wish after submitting the teacher application. Each year we seek to offer a balance of workshops, including singing, dancing, drumming, marimba, several types of mbira and a variety of cultural presentations. Based on feedback from previous Zimfest participants, we are making the following suggestions for 2019 workshop proposals:
Many 2018 marimba workshop participants expressed the desire for more time in upper level workshops. We can accept a limited number of 2.5 hour marimba workshops at the Intermediate and/or Advanced level.
Consider, however, that presentations, or workshops in dancing or hosho, might be better suited to 1 or 1.5 hours.
We can also schedule a small number of intermediate or advanced marimba workshops for teens. We no longer have a separate age level for teens, so please tell us in the workshop description or title if you are proposing a teen workshop.
We love to see workshops that educate about African music beyond just teaching songs. Sessions that integrate marimba with singing, dancing, drumming and/or hosho, bring home to American students the knowledge that these music and dance activities are rarely separate in Zimbabwe!
Send us your ideas, and we’ll see what we can schedule!
The Zimfest Association Board has chosen to carry over the 2018 theme, “Music Dancing Across Borders” for Zimfest 2019. Considering that legal circumstances for immigrants and residents both here in the United States and in Zimbabwe continue to be under threat, we remain steadfast in the belief that music and dance are unifying forces around the world. We look forward to dissolving borders and creating togetherness at Zimfest 2019, August 8-11 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR.
Happy New Year from the 2019 Organizing Committee!
Best regards, Claire Jones
Zimfest Coordinator
With the winter holidays over, and Valentine’s Day behind us, it’s a perfect time to make summer plans. Join us as a teacher at Zimfest 2018!
The deadline for Zimfest applications is February 28, one short week. Make a difference to the festival by applying to share something you know – we especially need marimba teachers at Beginner, Novice and Intermediate levels.
We are waiting for your applications to teach and perform at Zimfest 2018. You have one short month before applications close on February 28, 2018.
Check out the fabulous Zimfest 2018 graphic by Rachel Edson on the 2018 webpage. Let us know if you would like a pile of these Save the Date cards to distribute in your community.
And as always, we’d love your help organizing and producing Zimfest 2018! Write volunteers[at]zimfest[dot]org to find out what you can do.
Best regards,
Claire and the 2018 Zimfest Organizing Committee
Online applications are now open for the 2018 Zimbabwean Music Festival. To apply to teach or perform at this year’s festival, follow links on the Zimfest 2018 home page or go directly to the Teacher Application Information and/or Performer Application Information pages. The ZA Tech committee has done a great job finding appropriate software and formatting the applications so that they are very user friendly. You should find that it is just as easy to fill out the applications using a smart phone as it is on a computer. Unlike previous years, you will not need a Google account to log in.
Each year we seek to offer a balance of workshops, including singing, dancing, drumming, marimba, several types of mbira and a variety of cultural presentations. In response to desires expressed by Zimfest participants for marimba workshops in which students improvise on commonly-known songs, we are encouraging teachers to propose workshops in the form of curated jam sessions; these are best offered at intermediate and advanced levels. We would also love to see workshops (especially from Zimbabwean instructors!) that integrate and relate marimba to singing, dancing, drumming and/or hosho, to bring home to American students the awareness that these music and dance activities are rarely separate in Zimbabwe. Send us your ideas, whether stand-alone or linked workshops, and we’ll see what we can schedule!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Zimfest 2018, August 9-12 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. Please remember that the festival needs your volunteer help! If you are interested in volunteering, please write
Happy New Year from the 2018 Organizing Committee!
Best regards, Claire Jones
Zimfest Coordinator
Greetings Zimfest Community,
The Zimfest Association Board has chosen “Music Dancing Across Borders” as the theme for Zimfest 2018. Given the vulnerable circumstances for immigrants and citizens both here in the United States and in Zimbabwe, we are steadfast in the knowledge that music and dance are unifying forces around the world. We look forward to dissolving borders and creating togetherness at the next Zimfest (Aug 9-12, 2018) in Monmouth, OR!
What You Can Do to Help
Our Tech Committee has been working all year to assess software programs and set up a new registration system. Online applications are scheduled to open January 2 on the festival website at https://zimfest.org. There is much to do before that date, and I am actively recruiting volunteers and team members to work on the Zimfest Organizing Committee (OC). We are already implementing the idea discussed at the 2016 Village meeting: to have veteran organizers mentor inexperienced or young volunteers who want to learn on the job as interns. No matter your level of experience, helping with the annual Zimfest gathering is a great way to give back for all the joy and enrichment experienced through this wonderful music.
If you have the time and energy to commit, volunteer for the Organizing Committee. OC members meet regularly via skype and take responsibility for major areas of the festival. We need people to work on the following:
Teacher and Workshop Scheduling (intern position)
Concert planning and Performer Liaison (could be an intern!)
Zimbabwean Guest Coordinator
Registration and Website lead
Marketplace Coordination
Some other jobs take a fair amount of time leading up to and at the festival, but do not require you to meet regularly with the OC:
T-shirt and Merchandise Production
Publicity and Marketing
Instrument Procuring
If you have smaller chunks of time, there are many other tasks that you can do before the festival:
Registration system documentation writer
Proofreading: website and festival guide
Coordinating shuttles and airport pickups/drop-offs.
If you can do major work at the festival but don’t have much time in the months leading up to it, volunteer now for on-site jobs such as:
Marimba Wranglers
Green Room Coordinator
Zimfest booth sales
Festival decorations and signage
Festival site cleanup crew.
Please let us know if and how you can help: e-mail me directly at , and/or Volunteer Coordinator Carla Starck at . You can also phone me at 206 328-4011.
Thanks in advance for your help and support. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Zimfest celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, come celebrate with us! We thank Musekiwa Chingodza and Lucky Moyo (yes, both are planning to come this year!) for help in choosing the theme for this year’s festival.
Sing-Dance-Play! Tambai Tambai! Dlala-Dlala!
In Zimbabwe you only need one word to say “Play (music)” or “Dance” or “Play (have fun)”: Tambai if you speak chiShona, or Dlala in isiNdebele. What could be more appropriate to describe the three and a half days of Zimbabwean-inflected music, dance, song, culture and fun that is the Zimbabwean Music Festival? Come sing-dance-play with us at the 25th annual Zimfest at Western Oregon University, Monmouth OR, August 11-14, 2016. Tambai! Dlala!
Applications Closing Soon
The deadline for submitting your online applications to perform and/or teach at Zimfest 2016 is this weekend, March 12, 2016. We want your ideas! Don’t forget that this year’s emphasis is on Cultural Presentations. We encourage you (especially Zimbabwean instructors!) to propose workshops on a variety of cultural topics of interest to American students and fans of Zimbabwean music. Teachers of workshops with 20 or more participants will receive a higher pay rate. We’d love to see Presentation topics that attract large groups! All performer and teacher applications are available online at https://apply.zimfest.org.
As always, keep in mind that the festival can’t happen without your help! If you are interested in volunteering, please write volunteers {at} zimfest (dot) org.
Best regards on behalf of the 2016 Organizing Committee,
We have received very few applications for teaching and performing at Zimfest 2016 thus far. The deadline of March 12, 2016 for submitting applications is fast approaching, and we’d love to hear from you! Take a bit of your time this weekend and enter your applications online at https://apply.zimfest.org – more info is available on our previous blog post at https://zimfest.org/blog/.
Groovin’ at the Grove, WOU
Mark your calendars for Zimfest 2016 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR, August 11-14, 2016. E-mail us with any questions at 2016 (at) zimfest (dot) org.
Hope to see you there!
Zimfest 2016 Organizing Committee
Applications are now open for Zimfest 2016. All performer and teacher applications are available online at https://apply.zimfest.org. As introduced last year, you will need a Google account (gmail will work) in order to log in. The deadline for submitting applications is March 12, 2016; don’t delay!
Each year we seek to offer a balanced number of workshops, including singing, dancing, drumming and the instruments performed in traditional and modern Zimbabwean music. This year’s emphasis is on Cultural Presentations. We encourage you (especially Zimbabwean instructors!) to propose workshops on a variety of cultural topics of interest to American students and fans of Zimbabwean music. Personal discussions of your own experiences in the music and growing up are welcome! Students: please take note that these presentations are half-price! Teachers: please take note that the Zimfest Association Board has approved an increase in pay rate (to $70 per teaching hour) for teachers of workshops with 20 or more participants. We would love to see Presentation topics that attract large groups!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 2016 Zimbabwean Music Festival, August 11-14 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. Please remember that the festival needs your volunteer help! If you are interested in volunteering, please write volunteers {at} zimfest (dot) org.
Best regards on behalf of the 2016 Organizing Committee,
Online applications to perform and teach at Zimfest 2015 close Sunday March 15. If you have been thinking about applying, now is the time for action! Log in at 2015.zimfest.org and do it – tell us what you’d like to teach, or who your band is. We are especially looking for dance, drumming, language, karimba (nyunga nyunga) and cultural presentation workshops.
Zimfest 2015: Enduring Rhythms ~ Gathering in Harmony
The Zimfest 2015 Organizing Committee
Beware, the Ides of March cometh! Online applications to perform and teach at Zimfest 2015 are due March 15! This year’s festival runs from August 13 to 16 and will take place at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, just west of Salem. We are hoping to see lots of performing groups from Portland and Eugene this year, and teachers from all over. Submit your applications now, don’t wait until the last minute! Please address any questions to or .
Apply Online at https://2015.zimfest.org
On behalf of the Zimfest Association,
—Zimfest Coordinator Claire Jones
(P.S. — Don’t forget Zimfest Association is now registered to receive donations when people shop at AmazonSmile. You can support the festival by choosing Zimfest Association as the organization you would like to receive 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases at AmazonSmile.)
This blog is the main news channel for the Zimbabwean Music Festival (aka Zimfest). The Zimfest organizing committee posts updates on the annual festival, and the Zimfest Association board provides meeting minutes and other info. We hope this blog becomes a mechanism for a rich dialog with Zimfest participants. Subscribe to receive blog posts via email.
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