BULWAYO - The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (Nacz) director Elvas Mari has described the Intwasa Arts Festival as an international event which should not be trivialised and taken as a provincial showcase.

Addressing the gathering while officially opening the festival in Bulawayo on Wednesday Mari said the eight-year-old arts fiesta should be viewed differently.

“While Intwasa takes place in Bulawayo and should always be identified with Bulawayo it is important to note though that this arts event is not just about Bulawayo,” said Mari.

“The festival is bigger than that, Intwasa should be viewed first as a national event and secondly as an international event hosted by the city of Bulawayo,” he said.

Mari urged Bulawayo residents to fully support the festival “especially through patronage”.

“Without local audiences, festivals die. It is only when everyone plays their part that the festival can reach its full potential.”

He also appealed to the city fathers, the corporate world and the government to support the festival as it is the country’s cultural backbone.

However, speaking at the same occasion festival director Raisedon Baya said: “The dream of Intwasa is what keeps arts in Bulawayo alive and we urge everyone in making this dream a success.”

More than a thousand people attended the event that signified the official onset of the five-day entertainment filled week.

The annual arts extravaganza kicked off on Tuesday and the curtain is set to come down tomorrow.
With various entertainment groups’ line-up at the official opening occasion, the event was always going to be awe-inspiring.

Well choreographed collective performances featuring Iyasa, Umkhathi Theater Works, Family Voices and Chimtale among others left the visibly enthusiastic audience awestruck.

Sthandazille Dube and Liqua also serenaded fans with their well mastered poetry that deservedly resonated with the festival theme “Bulawayo Blooming”.

To spice up the already “blooming entertainment” scene, one of the unidentified performers left the audience tongue tied when he started displaying what appeared like magic.

The event which lasted nearly three hours was then capped with a Delta sponsored cocktail party that saw stakeholders in the arts fraternity mixing and mingling.

It further saw the Nacz director Mari cut a cake in celebration of Chibuku beverages attainment of 50 years.