Zimpapers Logo

Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Reporter
Masvingo is set to host its inaugural People’s Choice Arts Awards next month as part of the Hevoi FM fifth anniversary celebrations.

The station that went live in May 2018 is the only commercial radio station in the province.

Dubbed the Masvingo People’s Choice Arts Awards, the awards are set to give recognition to artistes from the province and express gratitude for the support the local community has given to the station over the past five years.

The station’s manager, Works Gezani said the station has been hosting various events to celebrate their anniversaries although they could not celebrate in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’ve held several events to celebrate the day.

In 2019, we organised a sports festival but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do anything in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19-induced lockdowns.

“Our fifth birthday is very important to us and as such, we’ve decided to celebrate it by honouring our local artistes who’ve contributed largely to our growth as a station.

The idea of these awards is to express gratitude to the people of Masvingo who’ve helped us to reach this five-year milestone,” Gezani said.

The manager said the awards aim to boost self-confidence among local arts as well as promote local talent in the city.

“We named them people’s choice awards because we wanted the community to be part and parcel of the process of selecting those that deserve to be honoured.

Masvingo has great talent and the province has produced legends.

We’re hoping that through these awards, artistes will have more confidence in their craft as well as motivate the up-and-coming generation to believe in themselves.

“I’ve no doubt that this recognition will go a long way for our local artistes,” said Gezani.

He called on local artistes to submit their works to the station’s Facebook page before the June 30 deadline.

“The works should have been produced between 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022.”

Below are the categories:

Best poet

Artiste of the year

Best photographer

Best gospel artiste

Best club DJ

Best female DJ

Best producer

Social media influencer

Best nightclub/Outdoor bar

Best actor/comedian

Upcoming artist

Best dance group

Best social media page

Life achievement

Best makeup artist

Best events organiser

Best recording studio

Best radio personality

Best Hip-hop/Zimdancehall/Afro-pop