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Bongani Ndlovu/Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Correspondents
It seems the industry is opening up and adjusting to the new normal as a number of events are lining up in Zimbabwe with Ster Kinekor set to open its doors and Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo having put out dates.

For nearly seven months the entertainment industry in Zimbabwe has been put on hold as it could not operate because the congregation of people poses a threat to the health of the nation.

The global virus Covid-19 caused all this as its spread has come with detrimental effects in Zimbabwe and the world at large.

So, for the past nearly seven months, artistes have been out of work, especially those who do live acts, with festivals cancelled, some postponed to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Now under the new normal it seems some artistes and other entertainment domains have come up with ingenious ways to try meander through the regulations and hold their events or open their venues.

This Friday, movie house Ster Kinekor will be opening its doors to the public under strict Covid-19 regulations. Only two cinemas will be open and those will carry a maximum of 50 people at a time.

Ster Kinekor complex manager Comfort Mbaserah said the movies will be premiered through three shows.

“We will be opening the cinema this Friday at 50 percent capacity and with Covid-19 protocols being adhered to where we will have three shows per day to the be held at 11.40AM, 2PM and 4.30PM.

“We have four cinemas so we will only open two for now,” said Mbaserah.

Mbaserah said entrance for the cinemas is pegged at US$2,50 for adults and US$2 for children.

On the day of the reopening, two movies will be premiered namely Tenet and Trolls World Tour. Later on this month on October 25, the popular out door event Munch & Sip is expected to be held at Waterfront.

However, there is a catch, as there are limited number of tickets going for US$5 per pop and presale of those started yesterday. Before the new normal to enter the event one parted with US$2.

The reason for this, when Munch & Sip organisers were asked was because they wanted to limit numbers to comply with Covid-19 regulations.

“Sorry guys it’s just that we have to limit numbers because of Covivi (Covid-19). Otherwise it would have been usual 2 bux,” they posted on their Facebook page when asked why the cover charge was increased.

Another event, the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo has released dates for the annual fete that was supposed to be held in September, marking the beginning of Spring.

But these are peculiar times that people are living in and the festival will be from December 21 to 24 which will be a great thing for the festive season.

Perhaps by this time the Covid-19 regulations will be lifted and the economy will be reopened for events such as theirs to be held.

Already organisers have come up with one event, Women’s Day on December 23.

As for live bands, some have started getting gigs around the city in establishments such as Umguza Sailing Club and The Place.

Over the weekend some of the bands were performing there, until 6PM and then the place is supposed to close.

This has brought relief to them as they have been idle for the past six months.

One band leader, Prosper Tshuma who fronts the Smart Birds said inquiries were coming in thick and fast.

“We looking forward to start soon. My band and I have been working on a new routine that we’ll use when we get back into business.

“We are happy that there were some slots that have been opened. Its been hard out there without any job or any gig to feed our families,” said Tshuma.