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Posts Tagged "Zimfest registration"

Two Weeks Until Registration Closes

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Greetings Zimfest community,

It is yet another wet, grey day here in Seattle. But a weather forecast for Mount Vernon says the Zimfest weekend of June 24-26 will be sunny and clear. Here’s hoping!

In one week the workshops team will look at workshop registrations and cancel those with enrollments under the minimum number of students. We don’t like to do that, so help us and the teachers out by signing up for those in danger of cancellation:

  • Session 5: Danmore Kusaya has agreed to teach any and all levels of mbira player in the fun song Huku Ine Ronda. 
  • Session 3: Zivanai Masango is teaching Vocal and Percussion Ensemble, and more people are needed to form an ensemble. All levels welcome!
  • Session 3: Salani Wamkanganise and Kelly Orphan collaborate in teaching Mhoro Nherera singing with hosho. We’d love it if students in this class could join in the Festival Highlights program on Sunday.

Reminder that Zimfest cannot happen without volunteer help, and there are still plenty of volunteer jobs to sign up for. Volunteer Coordinator Ev would like you to know that if you sign up for 3 or more volunteer jobs, you will be offered a trip to the Hospitality Lounge (formerly Claire’s Cafe), located onsite, for a goodie or two. We need your help to make Zimfest 2022 a success!

Claire and the 2022 Organizing Committee

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Zimfest Registration Open May 1

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Happy May Day!

Zimfest Registration is now open for members of the Zimfest Association, and will open for all others on May 4. See the How to Register page for instructions and a button (link) to register on RegFox.  You may wish to take out a membership here if you haven’t done so already.

  • You may register for Zimfest workshops and camping and RVing sites at the Skagit Fairgrounds in RegFox, and purchase concert tickets on the Lincoln Theater website.
  • Registration for the dorm rooms at Skagit College’s Campus View Village will open up in RegFox after mid-May, when College personnel notify us of exactly how many rooms will be available to Zimfest attendees.
  • Volunteer Sign-up is open now – don’t forget to sign up for your shifts after you know your workshop and performance schedules to avoid conflicts! 

Some more useful links:

The Zimfest 2022 OC

Heron taking wing, by Rachel Edson

Take Flight at Zimfest 2022

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Zimfest Accommodations Webpages

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Hi all,

We are aware that Zimfesters planning to come to the festival this year (June 24-26, 2022) are wanting to figure out their accommodations, whether camping onsite or lodging elsewhere. We now have relevant info available on the website.

The Zimfest Accommodation web page describes:

  • Camping and RVing on the south end of the Fairgrounds
  • Rentable single rooms in 4-BR apartment suites at the Skagit Valley College, 3.7 miles away. Zimfest has arranged for a block of apartments at the college, mainly for Zimbabwean guests, with a a limited number available to non-campers

You can sign up and pay for either of the above through Zimfest Registration, scheduled to open May 1.

Off-Site Lodging – a listing of nearby hotels and motels in Mount Vernon and Burlington, some of which offer discounts of 10-15% off to Fairgrounds users and Zimfest attendees. Also included are some off-site RVing and camping sites.

Dining Options in Mount Vernon – just a few listings to help prepare you for the festival weekend in the lovely Skagit Valley!

Happy Spring!
Zimfest Organizing Committee

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Zimfest Online Reminder

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

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

Posted on by Zimfest Organizing Committee Posted in Festival News

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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Ride Board and Registration Clarification

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Howdy,

Want to get to know a Zimbabwean teacher or performer better? Give them a ride to or from Zimfest!

* We have Zimbabwean teachers and performers coming from all directions this year. Some will arrive directly from Zimbabwe and some are visiting communities elsewhere in the US before the festival. Some are experienced US travelers and some are first-time visitors. Given the variety of schedules and arrival points, it’s quite a logistical challenge to get all our Zim guests to Monmouth for the festival and to get them off to their next destination after the festival. As with so many aspects of Zimfest, we depend on festival goers to help by giving rides to teachers and performers on their way to and from Monmouth. The Ride Board on the website is the place to make connections between drivers and riders. You can post an offer or request a ride yourself, by entering some basic info on time and place plus a contact email or phone number.
 – Mark Keller, Zimbabwean Guest Coordinator

* Also, a clari-fication from the Festival Coordinator: Housing and dining registrations are now closed, and the last day to register for workshops and sign up for volunteer shifts is July 31. These systems will close at midnight that day and no registration can take place until August 8 onsite.
 – Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator

Music Dancing Across Borders

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Deadlines and Drums

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Hello Zimfest community,

The festival is only 20 days away! Important information for you:

  • Saturday July 20th is the last date to register for housing and dining as we need to send the data to our WOU host. There is not likely to be any housing available for walk-ins onsite, so register now!
  • Registrations for workshops and volunteer signups will close August 1st at midnight. No changes can be made until Aug 8 at onsite registration.
  • 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. 8 at the festival. We promise to take good care of them for the weekend!

Zimfest 2019 OC

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Zimfest Registration is Open

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival News

Dear Zimfest community,

Online registration for Zimfest 2019 is now open! Visit the How to Register ‎page on the website for instructions (please read!) and the direct link to our online system RegFox. A few new tips and reminders:

  • Marketplace booth applications are also open for all new and returning vendors. Please go to the Vendor Information page for guidelines and a link to the Vendor applications. This application is not connected to the online registration form, and vendor applicants will have to make a separate payment for booths using PayPal (sorry!).
  • An eleventh-hour development strengthens our efforts to make Zimfest more affordable for families – meals are now discounted for children 11 and under! See Festival Costs for prices. When you enter the age range of the person for whom you are registering in RegFox, the correct meal prices will be displayed and computed for you.
  • All Zimfest registrants must confirm that they have read and agree to the Zimfest Code of Conduct.  If you are not aware of this initiative by the ZA Board to ensure that the festival remains a safe and non-threatening environment for all, please read about it here.
  • Zimfest Association members are exempt from the $15 Registration fee. Become a member and support Zimfest before you register.
  • Those purchasing concert tickets only are also exempt from the registration fee, and can skip down to the concert ticket section in RegFox.

Enjoy the spring weather!
Claire and the OC

Music Dancing Across Borders

 

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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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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 Tips

Posted on by Claire Jones Posted in Festival Details

Greetings Zimfest Participants,

There are now six days remaining before Zimfest 2016 launches! We have a few tips and reminders for Zimfest participants, whether you are new to the festival or an old hand:

  • The weather forecast for Monmouth OR is for continued sunny and warm weather,  likely to be in the 80s during the festival. Be sure to put on sunscreen and bring fans for your rooms. Like most colleges, Western Oregon University has no air conditioning in the dorms.
  • Zimfest supplies (borrowed) marimbas and hosho for workshops, but it can be challenging procuring enough instruments for the many types of workshops we offer. If you have or can borrow a mbira in the tuning a workshop will be taught in, please bring it; otherwise the teacher or Zimfest will provide one. The same goes for drumming workshops; if you own or can borrow a drum for a workshop you are taking, please bring it.  If you are taking a guitar workshop and have a guitar amp, please bring it as Zimfest cannot provide amps.
  • Zimfest online registration for housing, dining and workshops is now closed, but you can still sign up for volunteer shifts here. Onsite registration will open at the festival at noon on Thursday August 11. You will then be able to enroll in workshops that still have space in them by going to the Registration Desk.
  • Workshop registrations will close 15 minutes before the session starting time in order for staff to print final workshop rosters.  In some cases latecomers may request a “golden ticket” to sign up for an open workshop up until the start time of the workshop.
  • Very often bands performing at Zimfest like to sell their CDs after their shows. If you are performing on the evening concert stage, Zimfest can provide table space in the WUC West Lobby outside the Pacific Room concert hall. Please provide your own CD salespeople, as Zimfest volunteers cannot sell CDs for you.

Thanks for reading, and see you at the festival!

Zimfest 2016 Organizing Committee

Sing-Dance-Play! Tambai Tambai! Dlala-Dlala!

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