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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
TONIGHT artistes and arts fans from around the country will be following closely the 17th edition of the National Art Merit Awards being held at the Reps Theatre in Harare to see who will come out tops.

The red carpet will be rolled out at the venue while invited guests will doll up with different brilliant and wacky outfits that will leave many in awe and dumbfounded at the same time.

Away from the red carpet shenanigans, it is in the auditorium where 96 nominees will be biting their nails. Those lucky to attend the ceremony will add to the tense atmosphere while those watching at home on ZBCtv will follow proceedings closely. A first this year is that the Nama will be streamed live on the NAMA NACZ Facebook page.

The most anticipated category will be the Music Award where big names such as ExQ, Soul Jah Love, Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown and Caleb Msipa are up for the gong.

In the outstanding song, it will be a choice between Akiliz by Ammara Brown, Ndinindamubata by Jah Prayzah and Pama Monya Ipapo by Soul Jah Love.

Another category is the People’s Choice Award where it will be a race for who is more popular than others. The big guns such as Winky D and Jah Prayzah started their campaigns last week asking people to vote for them.

For Bulawayo, categories of interest will be in the theatre awards where Matesu Dube and his Umkhathi Theatre Works have three nominations for their production Ihloka.

Firstly, Dube has been nominated in the Outstanding Director and Theatrical production category while actor Leonard Phiri is nominated in the Outstanding Actor in theatre category. Veteran actor Thulani Mbambo’s production Double Funeral received five nominations and award winning actors Gift Chakuvinga, Nomvuyiso Mabi and Julian Tshuma could walk away with smiles tonight.

In spoken word Tinashe Tafirenyika who won a Bulawayo Art Award for best poet last year is also nominated for a Nama under the Outstanding Poet category.

A perennial nominee and winner a couple of times, writer Fortune Tazvivinga will be vying for the Outstanding Children’s book gong in the literary awards.