Dear Zimfest enthusiasts,
Wrap up your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1951506 and AmazonSmile donates to Zimfest Association.
Thanks, from the Zimfest Board
Zimfest News Blog
Join or Renew Now During Our Annual End-of-Year Membership Campaign
Dear Zimfest Association Friends and Members,
Giving Tuesday is almost here and it’s also a good time to think about renewing your Zimfest membership. We welcome new members too! We don’t have auto-renewal available yet, but that is something we are working towards for the future.
We hope you are doing well and have found this year challenging as well as thought-provoking, given the many newsworthy events both in Zimbabwe and the USA! This will be our sixth year running the Zimfest Association’s Annual Campaign and Membership Drive. Thank you for your support in a very successful ZF 2018. While the festival itself provides some income to the association, these funds are simply insufficient to help sustain and grow the Association and the Festival. Last year the support from thirteen donors and members gave $1795 by the end of the year which is equivalent to providing all weekend meal plans and housing during Zimfest 2018 to only seven Zimbabwean guest teachers and performers. There are three ways you can help; by renewing your membership, becoming a new member and making a donation.
Our long term goal is to have the majority of Zimfest participants be members of the organization. We have seen an increase in previous years. 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. Membership covers the calendar year January 1st through December 31st. Membership dues are an essential part of keeping Zimfest alive and vibrant. From as little as $10.00 per year for our Youth/Student membership, there are membership categories to fit any budget and situation! Consider Regular, Family, Couple, Teacher, Lifetime, and Lifetime Family memberships. It’s also easy to add a donation to your membership payment. Members may choose to have their names published on the website and in the Festival Guide as a public display of support for Zimfest. Membership fees are 100% tax deductible, for now at least! Please refer to the membership page to renew or initiate a membership. Please write us at if you want to clarify your membership status. Join or renew now for 2019.
Thanks for all you do to help make Zimfest a success. It was great to see many of you at Zimfest!
–The Zimfest Association Board
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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Shopping Online Can Help Support Zimfest
Greetings, Zimfest friends,
Now is a time when more of us turn to shopping online. I recently signed up for Giving Assistant, which is very easy to use. You can earn money for yourself (if you choose) and donate to Zimfest while shopping online at more than 3,100 stores. The Button alerts you to any cash back donations available to activate before you check out. It only takes a minute to set up your account with Giving Assistant, and Zimfest will automatically be selected as your charity of choice if you use this link.
We’d also like to remind you of two other completely painless ways you can donate and help Zimfest on an ongoing basis. Go to the Support Zimfest page for information on Giving Assistant, AmazonSmile and eBay Giving.
Thanks for all you do to help make Zimfest a success. Best wishes for the holidays and we hope to see you at Zimfest 2019!
Regards,
Jacqueline Fallon
Zimfest Board Secretary
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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October Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the October 14th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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Village Meeting and September Board Meeting Minutes
The Zimfest Association board of directors has posted minutes from the Village Meeting at Zimfest 2018 and the September 9th board meeting.
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Announcing Zimfest 2019
Dear Zimfest community,
The Zimfest Association Board of Directors and I are pleased to announce that we will be producing a festival next year! Zimfest 2019 will take place at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, from August 8 to 11. Mark your calendars and make your plans!
When this year’s festival ended, we were unsure whether we had enough committed volunteers to staff an organizing committee (OC) for 2019. It has been very gratifying to see a number of new recruits raise their hands to volunteer, and I have been in touch with almost everyone who wrote to us or signed up at the festival. While we are confident we have enough people onboard for the OC, we still – always – need volunteer help leading up to and/or at the festival. You can always write to volunteers{at}zimfest{dot}org or complete the form at the bottom of the Why and How to Volunteer page.
To those of you who are unable to attend Zimfest on the dates WOU is available to us (the second weekend of August): we are sorry we have not been able to accommodate you and are continuing to seek dates earlier in the summer. We are looking ahead to Zimfest 2020 at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, where we have been promised (fingers crossed) an earlier date. We cannot confirm an exact weekend for Zimfest 2020 however.
Blessings to all, enjoy the fall colors!
Claire (Jones)
Zimfest Coordinator
Posted In: Festival News
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Update: Patience Musandirire Lost Luggage
Dear Zimfest participants, Zimbabwean music and cultural enthusiasts,
Those of you who were at Zimfest may recall that Patience Musandirire told us that his flights from Zimbabwe had been delayed and rerouted, and along the way his baggage went missing. His suitcase arrived one week later, after the festival. It had been ripped open and a number of items were missing. We have filed claims with United Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines for delayed luggage and lost content. These claims have been processed and partial payments made in the form of these transferable airline vouchers that expire in one year (summer 2019).
Consider helping Patience to get reimbursement for the loss of luggage, delayed claims, and mbira instruments stolen from his bag. If you travel on United Airlines, we have $500 in travel vouchers that we can transfer to you. Contact Gretel Baumgartner (in Oregon) to coordinate details in transferring these airline vouchers, valid on United Airlines. You will pay $500 for the same travel value – all money will be delivered to Patience in Harare, Zimbabwe. Gretel will arrange safe and secure wired funds. If you have current knowledge on the best means of transferring funds to Zimbabwe, please write to Gretel or reply to this blog post.
Please contact Gretel via email gjb9876 “at” yahoo “dot” com.
Posted on behalf of Gretel Baumgartner and Patience Musandirire
Thank you.
Posted In: Festival News
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Looking to Zimfest 2019
Greetings lovers of the music and people of Zimbabwe!
Wow, what a great festival we had this year. Taking some time off really helped to accentuate all the things that make Zimfest so wonderful: great teachers from around the world, music all day and night, and connections with friends both old and new! Those of you who attended our Village Meeting this year are probably waiting with bated breath to find out whether or not a festival will take place in 2019. What we can say at this juncture is this: while we are cautiously optimistic about having the festival next year, there are still a few things that need to come together before we can confirm with absolute certainty. We have had an outpouring of support from people all over the country who are interested in helping to organize Zimfest 2019, but we still need a few more. We are specifically looking for people to populate our organizing committee, a job that requires meeting by Skype every couple of weeks starting in mid December, usually with tasks to carry out in between meetings. We also need support personnel who don’t have to meet with the Organizing Committee and whose tasks would vary in duration. In other words, there are a number of crucial jobs to fill with varying levels of commitment, so please consider helping out in whatever way you can. In the meantime, we hope you all sit tight and stay tuned. And don’t forget, it’s not too late to get involved. If you have any interest in helping out, please contact the board by writing board{at}zimfest{dot}org!
Hope to see all of you sooner than later,
—Your Friends on the Zimfest Board
Posted In: Festival News
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Zimfest Lost and Found
Hello Zimfesters,
The following items were turned in as Lost and Found at the Zimfest registration desk. I am willing to mail them to the owners if you can identify them. Write to claire{at}zimfest{dot}org with descriptions.
Fleece jacket
Folding knife
Adult onesie
Enjoy the fall weather!
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator
A message from Julia Chigamba:
Hello Zimfest family/ community
Sorry to bring you sad news. I had my mbira at my booth inside the mbira bags I was selling.
This mbira was made by my Father Baba Chigamba made it in a week as fast as he can and gave it to Kelly Takunda Orphan to bring it me. This mbira is so special to me very very special to me. I can’t stop thinking about it the story behind it and how it was made that quickly for me and was a gift to me from Jeanne Robinson Pimentel while we were in Zimbabwe in June. So please who ever has my baby you forgot to put it back on the table were the my baby was you can send it to my address.
It was truly fun and amazing to seeing everybody at zimfest. Don’t forget to message me about my mbira: nditistis55{at}gmail{dot}com.
Posted by Claire on behalf of Julia
Posted In: Festival News
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Zimfest 2018 Fundraising Drive Update
Zimfest friends and family,
Thank you for participating in the $1,000 matching challenge, from friends and relatives who really know nothing about Zimfest to our long-time loyal supporters. With all of your help we raised $1,500. A big thank you to our anonymous donors for this final Zimfest 2018 challenge. We have met and exceeded our $8,000 fundraising campaign goal for Zimfest 2018.
Much appreciated, from the Zimfest Board!
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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Zimfest 2018 Fundraising Drive Update
Dear Zimfest Community,
Just $10 from 21 people to almost reach the $211 to raise to reach $1,000. It costs $160 to house one Zimbabwean at Zimfest for the weekend. There are 3 more days in this $1000 matching challenge for Zimfest. No donation is too small.
To donate, go to https://zimfest.org/about/support-zimfest/.
Thank you for your support! from the Zimfest Board
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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Zimfest 2018 Fundraising Drive Update
Dear Zimfest Community,
Zimfest was amazing! We have a $1000 matching challenge coming out of Zimfest from Aug. 12 to 26 (extended). Thanks to some anonymous donors who want to continue to help with the fundraising efforts. We have raised $25 of $1000. No donation is too small.
To donate, go to https://zimfest.org/about/support-zimfest/
Thank you for your continued support! from the Zimfest Board
Posted In: Zimfest Association News
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