| The Zimbabwean Music Festival The Zimbabwean Music Festival is an annual celebration of Zimbabwean music and culture. The first festival was organized in Seattle in 1991 by a small committee of former students of the late Dr. Dumisani Maraire, the dynamic Zimbabwean musician who first introduced marimba and mbira music to the Pacific Northwest. In the years since, the festival has moved up and down the west coast, staged by volunteers in Seattle, Eugene, Portland, Victoria, Port Townsend, Seaside (California), Bellingham, and Olympia. | |
| Zimfest Zimfest was established in 2001 by a group of Zimbabweans based in the UK. We had all left Zim for the uk wide eyed and enthusiastic, ready to take on the world. We had come from every walk of life in Zimbabwe, from every race, tribe and social circle. We did however have one thing in common, All of us had been deeply touched by the turbulant times at home back in 200 and all of us were not the type to take things sitting down. The idea came about when Ros "Chariman Mao" Smith from Harare (a nick name that came about due to her never being seen without a thick red book which was essentially the Zimfest Bible) basically said "I know, let's have a beerfest"! Zimbabweans, beer, braai, sun – well hopefully on mud Island. It really was a no brainer. So we started this thing with 700 of our beautiful country men and women on a field behind a prison in Wandsorth South West London | |
