Gwambe Arts and Culture Club (GACC) will mark its second anniversary with a two-day cultural festival at Gwambe grounds in Bulilima on 11 and 12 September, with organisers expecting more than 1000 people from across Matabeleland.
The festival will promote African culture, traditional crafts and community unity, while giving young people an opportunity to showcase their talents and participate in programmes addressing drug and substance abuse and other social challenges.
GACC secretary Sithembile Siqhoza said the club was formed in January 2024 and officially launched in September that year.
“It was formed on 3 January 2024 and launched 7 September 2024. Its main purpose was to revive our African culture and crafts at the same time fostering unity within the communities,” Siqhoza said.
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Since its formation, the club has encouraged community participation in music, dance, drama, poetry and traditional crafts, while promoting the preservation of cultural heritage and encouraging young people to embrace traditional values.
Siqhoza said the club had also introduced a traditional food competition after the idea was proposed last year by local youth Sinosizo Moyo, with sponsorship from Youth Global Action and World Food Program.
“The main focus is on encouraging community participation in cultural activities such as music, dance, drama, poetry and different traditional crafts. To promote cultural heritage we have introduced a food competition on traditional foods which came in last year as a project from one of our local youth, Sinosizo Moyo sponsored by Youth Global Action and World Food Program. This year we are continuing with the competition even though the funding is tight. We also introduced a group of Amatshitshi and wish to introduce Amaguqa as well. This will allow our children to grow up valuing themselves as well as our cultural norms and values. The plan is to create a drug and substance abuse free community in the near future while preserving our cultural values. Our wish is to catch them young,” Siqhoza said.
The celebrations will begin on 11 September with a programme focused on young people. Organisers said the youth day was introduced after previous festivals left little time for young people to participate because of packed programmes.
The first day will include a marathon, talent showcases and campaigns against drug and substance abuse. Organisers will also discuss relationships, heartbreak and family disputes, including the risk of domestic violence.
“On the 11th, Day One, we will have our youth day. We realized that from the previous festivals youth don’t get time to express themselves because the program will be packed. On this day we will have a marathon in the morning. The youth will have time to showcase their talents through traditional music, dance and poetry. We will also take some time to campaign against drug and substance abuse. We hope to also talk about how to handle heart breaks and different situations we find ourselves in to avoid domestic violence. We encourage men to attend in numbers as there are rising cases of men who kill wives and children after misunderstandings at home or some marital issues,” she said.
The main anniversary programme will take place on 12 September and will feature traditional entertainment, cooking competitions, craft exhibitions and speeches by traditional leaders.
“12 September, will be the main event. It will have different forms of traditional entertainment, cooking competitions, viewing of different craft works and speeches from our traditional leadership,” Siqhoza said.
The festival will be held at Gwambe village near Magabha Shopping Centre under Chief Kandana. Traditional leaders from Bulilima are expected to attend.
Siqhoza said Chief Mphini was expected to host the event on behalf of the acting Chief Kandana, with visitors expected from Nkayi, Tsholotsho, Plumtree and surrounding areas.
“We expect all Chiefs around Bulilima to attend. Chief Mphini is expected to be the host Chief on behalf of the acting Chief Kandana. The event will be held at Gwambe village, Magabha Shopping center, under Chief Kandana. We expect numbers to go up this year. We expect visitors from as far as Nkayi, Tsholotsho, and around Plumtree. We expect more than one thousand people to attend this event,” Siqhoza said.
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