Artists sing for African unity during reggae festival

Reggae lovers braced themselves for the cold night and flooded the Makhado Show Grounds for an evening and night of original reggae sounds two weeks ago.

This was during the third Annual Africa Day Reggae Festival which formed part of the Department of Arts and Culture’s Africa Day celebrations under the theme “0% Racism and 0% Xenophobia in Our Lifetime.”

“As usual, the festival provided platforms for local bands, arts and culture groups to showcase their crafts while integrating the diverse cultures, their rich unique traditional practices, historical inheritance and traditional food through the arts,” says the festival director, Mr Murendeni Ramunenyiwa.

The festival also had an exhibition fair, which included the MO Faya expo marquee, where they exhibited and sold reggae regalia and jewellery, music, Rastafarian food, medication, merchandise and clothing. The fair also boosted a vegan chef from Georgia in America, Ahmeets, who prepared, cooked and exhibited some amazing healthy organic foods for guests and artists. T Image, an antiques supplier, exhibited some international bag brands and other related items.

An award-winning producer, singer and sound-creator, Sir Mckleker, said that the festival provided a space for performances by emerging artists whose talent might have gone unnoticed due to a lack of exposure. “It’s a good initiative for both established and upcoming artists,” he said. “Young artists always have a thing or two to learn from the established artists.” 

Entertainment - Date: 08 June 2017

Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Email: [email protected]