Minutes from the June 11 meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Minutes from the June 11 meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
We L-O-V-E our volunteers!
L-ive the life of a helper
O-pen your heart as you share the work
V-olunteer to show you care
E-veryone can do it!
Thanks to all who have signed up to volunteer. For those who haven’t yet, we need your helping hands! The Volunteer Coordinators are still looking for folks who can join in the “many hands make light work” idea for Zimfest 2023. In case you didn’t know, Zimfest is run by volunteers and in order to keep the festival going and have it be a success, we could use your help. You choose when and how much you want to be involved and then sign up, either online when you register (until July 30th), or in person at the festival—it’s that easy!
We are still looking for people in these areas:
– General festival set up
– Decorations: Setup and Marketplace
– Volunteer Table and Tent
– Workshop support
– Marketplace setup/takedown
– General festival cleanup and signage takedown
So please join us for the cause and share in the love for this festival.
~Ev Keller
Zimfest 2023 Volunteer Co-Coordinator
We want to let you know that there will some Zimfest-sponsored outreach events in Corvallis before the festival starts in earnest Aug. 3. These are now appearing on the Festival Events page:
Sunday, July 30, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tashinga Marimba, an Ancient Ways ensemble, will be playing at Common Fields. Entrance is free and family friendly; donations greatly appreciated. Tell all your friends in the Corvallis area!
Wednesday, August 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Zivanai Masango (and probably some friends) will be playing at the Old World Deli. No cover charge, but tips welcome! If you plan to come early for the festival, here’s a treat for you!
Greetings All,
Enjoy the summer weather!
Zimfest Organizing Committee
Greetings Zimfest Community,
We regret to inform you that Gwenyambira Joyce Warikandwa Chihera will not be joining us at Zimfest this year as her visa was denied. We hope to see her in a future year. Please see the Workshop Changes webpage for adjustments to the schedule to accommodate her absence.
The ZA Board has revised the COVID safety policy, to recommend (but not require) masking in indoor public spaces at the festival. Consult Covid Safety at Zimfest 2023 for details.
Minutes from the May 14th meeting of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors have been posted.
Please also note Workshop Changes posted on June 6.
Hello Zimfesters!
At this time we would like to announce the 2023 Zimfest Travel Fellowships grantees. The ZA Board initiated two fellowships in 2019 awarding full travel costs to one veteran Zimfest teacher and one new to the festival. Because of the effect of the pandemic on worldwide travel, 2023 is only the second time we have been able to make these awards. Please welcome our 2023 fellowship winners to Zimfest (and sign up for their workshops!):
An award-winning singer-songwriter and performing artist from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Ms. Tsikirai has been based in the United Kingdom since 2002. She previously taught (mainly choral music) at Zimfest 2018. Although she has a flare for dance, her greatest passion is singing, with influences ranging from traditional Shona and Ndebele music to contemporary AfroFusion sounds. Enjoy her performances on an electric version of “Nhemamusasa” and a recent collaboration with Zulu guitarist Maqhinga Hadebe.
There are openings in all four Zimfest 2023 workshops Tsungai will be teaching (enter her name under teachers): Dance Therapy, two singing workshops and an introduction to both chiShona and siNdebele languages, reflecting her heritage. The more people sign up for the choral sessions, the more fun! The Session 7 workshop Yimba/Cula will be the first performance at this year’s Festival Highlights on Sunday Aug 6. In addition, Tsungai is coordinating a special all-Zimbabwean show Sunday night at 9 PM on the evening stage, Celebrate Bulawayo!
Innocent is a multi-instrumentalist who began his musical career playing marimba at his primary school in Chitungwiza and with CHIPAWO (Children’s Performing Arts Organization of Zimbabwe). He moved to South Africa in 2008 to play in professional marimba bands there and later began teaching music in Johannesburg. He is on demand as a teacher in a number of Joburg schools, and has also been invited to play keyboards with Thomas Mapfumo as a member of the Blacks Unlimited in tours to South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe from 2015 on.
With an impressively large and varied repertoire, Innocent is teaching several marimba workshops at Zimfest 2023. While one of them has filled up, there are plenty of openings in the others at this time. He would especially like more players for “Varipiko Amai,” a Thomas Mapfumo number, and “Fairytale,” his arrangement of a South African house track. He will be performing with Totem Marimba bandmate Michael in the Marimba All-Stars, Friday evening at 9:35 PM. Enjoy Innocent and Mike jamming together on marimba.
We have now published the Ride Board on the Zimfest website to facilitate carpooling. Zimbabweans (and others) are starting to purchase plane tickets and will be requesting our assistance getting from the nearest airports to OSU in Corvallis.
Two months until Zimfest 2023!
Zimfest Coordinator and Organizing Committee
Dear Zimfest community, some updates for you:
Many thanks, enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend!
Claire and the 2023 OC
Music Dancing Across Borders
Greetings Zimfesters,
The OC worked hard to get Zimfest Registration open at midnight May 1 as advertised! Those of us up late saw many new members registering for their preferred rooms and workshops. We have a few additional pointers for you:
Happy May Day,
Zimfest Coordinator Claire
Minutes from the April 16th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
Are you ready to register for Zimfest!? Go to the website to Meet the Zimbabweans, meet the Workshop Teachers, browse all 79 workshops on the Workshop Schedule, learn How to Register, and much more.
Registration is due to open late Sunday night at midnight (when the date turns May 1st, Pacific Time) for ZA members, and on May 4th for everyone. Why not join, renew, verify your membership, or get your membership number.
A team of dedicated volunteers, the Zimfest Organizing Committee has been working very hard for the past few months preparing an amazing festival, August 3-6 at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
The Roommate Request Board is a new feature on the website this year (similar to the ride board). Because most dorm rooms are doubles and triples, you may want to find a roommate, to save money on housing.
You can always get the latest news by going to the Zimfest Home Page (in the white box in the middle).
Larry Israel
Zimfest website maintainer
Dear Zimfest community,
The Zimfest OC is excited to announce the Zimbabwean guests for 2023, including five performing and teaching artists new to Zimfest: Othnell Mangoma Moyo, Joyce Warikandwa Chihera, Mudavanhu Magaya, Innocent Musafare Mutero, and Tendayi Kusaya. Read more about them and returning friends on the Festival Overview page. Also check out planned Festival Events, including a tribute in song to the recently deceased Ambuya Stella Chiweshe among the Festival Highlights on Sunday afternoon.
We are hard at work getting registration ready to go, targeted to open on May 1 for members and May 4 for all others; the workshop schedule will be published soon. We have had unexpected news from OSU University Housing services, in that many of the rooms for rent in McNary Hall are triples. This is a mixed blessing as the triple rooms will be great for participants coming in groups, but not all the beds will be at floor level as we requested. See On-Campus Housing for room rates and configurations.
Friendly reminder to those wishing to renew Memberships: If you are a long-time member but have not paid for a membership since November 2021 (when we introduced a new membership system), you cannot renew your old membership. You must take out a new membership in the new system. If you take out or renew a membership in April, you will be able to access the registration system on May 1 before the general public.
Claire Jones, Festival Coordinator