By Jimmy Chazama
The free-of-charge annual Tumaini Festival, which is held at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa, will this year celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Led by Tumaini Letu, the festival will this year run for three days from October 31 to November 2.
The previous editions of the festival, whose name Tumaini means hope in Swahili, has been running for two days.
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Festival Manager Tammy Mbendera said yesterday at a press briefing in Lilongwe that all was set for the festival, which has over the years attracted several artists, both local and international.
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“Last year, it was great and this year it will be even much bigger because we are celebrating 10 years, which is no mean achievement,” Mbendera, who has spearheaded several festivals both local and international, said.
She said that in celebrating the 10th anniversary, they had decided to hold the festival for three days with new interactive spaces and multi-disciplinary performances across five stages set to light the moments.
“The festival will showcase a rich variety of entertainment including music, theatre, acrobatics, traditional and contemporary dance, art exhibitions, fashion shows, poetry, film screenings and special children’s performances,” Mbendera said.
Meanwhile, a statement from the festival has indicated that some of the artists set to perform at the festival this year include Maveriq Mavo and Tunya from South Africa as well as locals Lulu, Crispy Malawi, Tigris and Hyphen.
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Organisers have since said a full programme will be released next week.
Since its inception, the festival, according to the organisers, has been a symbol of optimism for the community, the nation and the world, gaining global recognition for its efforts towards inclusiveness and unity.
The festival has over the years provided trade opportunities to over 2,000 refugee entrepreneurs, exposed their products, goods and services to new markets outside the camp.
Tumaini Festival, over the past years, also welcomed over 179,000 patrons and featured over 500 acts from 20 countries, creating an inclusive space for artistic expression.
