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Lady Zamar

Melissa Mpofu, Showbiz Editor
This year’s Victoria Falls Carnival, which is in its seventh edition, has been launched with organisers saying they have added another day, specifically for the Victoria Falls community.

Over the past six years, the carnival has been held from December 29 to 31, but this year, the party will begin on December 28.

Launching the festival on social media networks on Monday, South African artistes, Freshlyground, Lady Zamar, BCUC and previously announced Prince Kaybee were introduced as some of the performers this year.

“We’re so excited to welcome SAMA winner and the songstress behind smash-hits My Baby, Love is Blind and Collide, Lady Zamar to our stage! Joining her is one of South Africa’s most loved bands, Freshlyground who’ll bring their infectious afro-pop sound to the falls this New Year’s,” organisers said as they announced the hosting of this year’s fete.

“Due to overwhelming demand, Prince Kaybee who debuted at the carnival last year will once again ignite the festival with his signature mix of banging tracks, electric mixing and unforgettable energy.

“BCUC will awaken carnivalists’ African spirits with their mix of ritual songs infused with rap influences. With so many more acts to come, people should not miss out on this spectacular event!”

Organisers said through the new dispensation, they were excited to be able to have Freshlyground – a group that was deported from Zimbabwe on several occasions, finally come to the carnival.

“We’ve always wanted to bring Freshlyground to the carnival but unfortunately couldn’t as they were banned. The new dispensation is open to such kind of artistes and for that, we’re grateful as this brings a lot of positivity.”

Tickets to the event, a New Year’s celebration, went on sale just after the launch with an early bird special.

“A 3-Day Pass is $75 and a 2-Day Pass is $50. These are very limited and when they sell out, the prices will increase by $15 each,” organisers said.

One of the organisers, Emmanuel Tivatyi said from the moment they launched the carnival online, they started receiving numerous calls.

“We’re really happy about the launch and the momentum it has created. From the moment we put up a Facebook post announcing the list of performers, we received an influx of calls and this goes to show how much people like the carnival,” Tivatyi said.

He said this year’s edition would be different as it would have more locals on the lineup as well as a surprise international act.

“We’re hoping to incorporate more local artistes from Victoria Falls and other cities as this year it’s all about the locals. We’ve actually added another day for the carnival in order to ensure that the Victoria Falls community is catered for,” he said.

The organiser invited locals who believe their works are good enough to be showcased on the carnival stage that attracts thousands of tourists each year, to get in touch with them or submit their works on the carnival’s website.

Preparations, Tivatyi said, were going on very well with organisers in talks with a platinum sponsor they will reveal soon. iflix who took over from Jameson and were the main sponsors last year will not be sponsoring this year.

“iflix, a subscription video on demand service, has been taken over by Kwese so they didn’t want to commit on sponsoring the carnival this year. However, we’re still in talks with another sponsor who has committed to sponsor the event,” Tivatyi said.

A new entry will be MTV who will assist with the buildup of the event on their popular music channel on DStv.

The popular train party will once again be held on the second day of the carnival, this time being December 29. The party on board will be different this year as it will have more DJs playing compared to previous editions where Vic Falls DJ, Francis was the only one.