Minutes from the December 8th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Zimfest News Blog
Zimfest 2025 Applications Are Now Open
Applications to teach or perform at Zimfest 2025 are now open! For details, go to Teacher Application Information and Performer Application Information. The application deadline is February 28. Zimbabweans living in Zimbabwe, South Africa, the UK, or other locations in which a B1/B2 US visa will be required, should submit teacher applications by 31 January.
Posted In: Festival News
No Comments — Comments Are Open Post Your Reply
Zimfest 2025 Applications Open Jan 2
Season’s Greetings Zimfest community!
Zimfest Association elves have been busy preparing our website with an Overview of the 2025 festival, and application information for prospective Teachers and Performers. Applications are scheduled to open January 2 and close February 28, 2025. Access to the applications will be provided by links on the information pages starting Jan 2.
Fast-tracking non-resident Zimbabwean applications
We are aware that many of our Zimbabwean teachers not resident in the US face delays getting B1/B2 visa appointments in the US Embassies where they live. To help get a head start on that process, we are fast-tracking Zimbabwean teacher applications. Zimbabweans living in Zimbabwe, South Africa, the UK (or elsewhere), submit your teacher applications by 31 January so that we can make preliminary acceptance decisions and get letters of invitation generated by our university co-sponsors. You will still have until 28 February to submit performance applications and workshop proposals. Questions? Please write to zimguests[at]zimfest[dot]org.
Happy New Year!
Zimfest Elves
Festival Coordinator Claire Jones
Web Manager Larry Israel
Music Dancing Across Borders
Posted In: Festival News
No Comments — Comments Are Open Post Your Reply
Annual Campaign 2024
Dearest Zimfest Association Members and friends,
Once again, we’ve found ourselves at the end of another full year. In addition to wishing everyone a happy holiday season, we wanted to share a few things. First, while it’s always hard to go a year without seeing all of you and playing our favorite music, we have been hard at work planning the future of the festival, and we are so excited to announce that Zimfest 2025 is officially a go! For the first time, the festival will be held at Central Washington University in beautiful Ellensburg, WA, August 7-10. For more information, please check out our blog https://zimfest.org/blog/2024/zimfest-updates-2/.
And now, please allow me to take a minute to appreciate the Zimfest Association members who are reading this. There are now well over 100 active members, all of whom allow us to continue working to provide an annual festival while maintaining our connection to the music of Zimbabwe throughout the year. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support.
“Hey, I want to be appreciated, too!” you might say, and rest assured, anyone reading this is OK in my book, but if you really want to take it to the next level, it’s easier than ever to join the Zimfest team. Simply go to https://zimfest.org/about/membership/. From there, you can follow instructions to become a member, renew a membership, or verify your membership status by plugging in your email address. We now have the option to auto-renew so you can contribute every year without even having to think about it! Perks for members include skipping the festival registration fee, and early access to workshop registration.
Already a member, but want to contribute even more? There are lots of other ways to do so. Consider making a tax-deductible donation of whatever amount works for you. If you’re selling stuff on eBay, you can choose to donate a percentage of the final sales price to the Zimfest Association. Please visit https://charity.ebay.com/charity-auctions/my-causes/ and search for Zimfest! Finally, if your company supports matching donations, find out from your supervisor or Human Resources department how your company can match your contributions!
Whatever you may be celebrating this year, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you all in Washington!
Membership questions? Please contact us at: za-members(at)zimfest{dot}org
Warmly,
Daniel Lockley, ZA Ex-Membership Queen
Maria Minnaar-Bailey, Interim President
Zimfest Association Board
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments — Comments Are Open Post Your Reply
October and November Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the October 13th and November 10th meetings of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments
Zimfest Updates
Greetings all,
Some Zimfest updates now that we are starting to work on the 2025 festival:
- Good news! We have been able to secure ample space for Zimfest campers at the Kittitas Valley Event Center (Ellensburg Rodeo grounds!), within walking distance of our 2025 festival site at Central Washington University. These inexpensive dry camping (tents only) sites will help ease the need for housing given the low-ish number of campus dorm rooms allocated to us by CWU. Campers will be able to register and pre-pay for space through Zimfest registration, scheduled to open in early May.
- We have updated the Virtual Marketplace on our website in time for the holiday shopping season. Support our Zimbabwean vendors! If you are an online vendor for Zimbabwean goods and want to be listed, please contact us at marketplace [at]zimfest[dot]org.
- Plea for Volunteers for the Organizing Committee (OC): As you know, Zimfest depends on volunteer help. One of the most important volunteers is the person(s) who recruits and manages all those who donate their time:
- Volunteer Coordinator(s)! We are badly in need of someone (or ones) to step up and replace our wonderful VC from the past three years. No experience necessary, just some willingness to work and people skills!
- Concert Production: I have only recently heard that our very efficient and experienced Concert Producers will not be available for set-up tasks before the festival this year.
- These are both big gaps in the OC. Please write claire[at]zimfest[dot]org for more information and/or to raise your hand!
Enjoy the holiday season,
Claire J.
Zimfest Coordinator
Music Dancing Across Borders
Posted In: Festival News
No Comments — Comments Are Open Post Your Reply
Announcing Zimfest 2025: August 7-10 at CWU
Dear Zimfest community,
At long last, the ZA board and I are happy to announce the dates and location for Zimfest 2025: August 7-10, 2025, at Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, WA. Mark your calendars! Be forewarned that Zimfest has been allocated a single dorm with only 80% of the number of beds we usually require on-campus, so you may wish to look into nearby motels, Air BnB’s and campgrounds well in advance. More info on these options coming soon!
The Search
We are so sorry that it took us this long to confirm a date, having begun an exhaustive WA State venue search late last year. After contacting many institutions, we have learned that college conference organizers and the administrations that oversee them have been as disturbed by the COVID epidemic as have many other for-profit and not-for-profit entities.
- Conference service fees are higher all around; be prepared to pay more when registering for Zimfest 2025 and future festivals to help us balance the budget.
- Disturbingly, at least two institutions that hosted Zimfest in the past do not want us back for reasons traceable to participant (mis)behavior. This made our search more difficult, and we remind Zimfest-goers that we owe respect and gratitude to our institutional hosts and their efforts, as well their rules (especially regarding alcohol and marijuana use!).
Volunteers Needed
Finally, we will be re-forming our Organizing Committee (OC) to begin work on Zimfest 2025, starting with teacher and performer applications to open in January. As always, we need volunteer help. Here are some needs we know of right now:
- Volunteer Coordinator—active member of the OC, with duties leading up to and during the festival
- Local Arrangements—does not need to meet with the OC, carries out tasks as needed in concert with Festival Coordinator
- Grant Writing and other Fund-Raising—works independently on behalf of the ZA Board
- Other Ongoing Volunteer Needs: see How and Why to Volunteer on the website
You can fill out the Volunteer Contact Form on the website or write directly to claire[at]zimfest[dot]org for info or to put your hand up!
Thanks for reading (apologies for the lengthy post)!
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator
Music Dancing Across Borders
(PS – We limited our site research and evaluation to Washington state this year with the vision of alternating years between Oregon and Washington sites. See here if you are interested in the venues we have researched.
Posted In: Festival News
1 Comment
September Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the September 8th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments
August Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the August 4th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments
Board Presidential Transition
Dear Zimfest Community,
I am writing to let you know that I am stepping down as the Zimfest Association Board President, effective this month, and that Maria Minnaar Bailey has stepped up as president in an interim capacity! In the short term, Zimfest Association is transitioning to a rotating presidency, as we seek out our next president.
It has been a huge honor to serve as Board President for the last 4 years (and on the Board generally since 2011), but it is time to make room for new talent on the board, and ensure that the organization can grow in a sustainable way. I plan to remain on the board during the transition period.
More generally, the Zimfest Association Board is very short on members at the moment, and we really need your help—either as a potential president, or a general member. Zimfest is required to maintain at least 8 Board members to preserve certain Washington State nonprofit benefits. At the moment, we are very close to this limit.
Although the work of the annual Organizing Committee is more visible to attendees, a strong and vibrant Board is very important to the long-term health of the organization and gives you the opportunity to shape the vision and strategy for the festival, and work with an exceptional group of dedicated Board members.
If you are interested in serving as a Board member:
- Information about applying here
- Presidential job description here
- General Board information, including current members, here
Sincerely,
Alex Weeks
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
2 Comments
July Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the July 14th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments
June Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the June 9th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
No Comments
