By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Forget the headline acts for a moment. The most talked-about hour at this year’s Castle Lager Braai Day Festival might not belong to Winky D, Ex Q or Enzo Ishall.
It belongs to the braai.
When the Castle Lager Braai Day Festival returns to Glamis Arena on Saturday, 17 October 2026, organisers are introducing a new centrepiece: “Castle Braai O’Clock” — an immersive group experience scheduled from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
For one hour, the festival will pause the usual stage-and-crowd rhythm and hand the spotlight to the grill.
What is Castle Braai O’Clock?
The activation is designed as a shared, participatory experience rather than a spectator event. At its centre is the ultimate braai master contest, alongside other engaging competitions running through the hour.
Castle Lager merchandise and additional prizes will be on offer — but the real draw is the format itself. In a festival landscape where audiences increasingly spend the day watching rather than doing, Braai O’Clock carves out an hour for participation.
It is, in effect, a festival within a festival: one hour where the smoke, the sizzle and the skill of the braai master become the main event.
Why it works
Zimbabwe’s braai culture is not a side attraction. It is a social institution — the reason friends gather, the reason weekends exist, the reason WhatsApp groups go quiet on a Sunday afternoon.
By formalising it into a timed, competitive, prize-bearing activation, Castle Lager is treating braai as the headline act it has always been in Zimbabwean life, rather than as catering for the music.
The hour also solves a logistical problem. Festivals of this size tend to have natural lulls — the gap between afternoon and evening sets, when energy dips and crowds drift. Braai O’Clock fills that gap with a scheduled, communal moment.
The music around it
None of this is to dismiss the lineup, which remains one of the strongest assembled at Glamis Arena this year.
More than ten local artists and DJs will perform across the day, headlined by Winky D, Ex Q and Enzo Ishall, with emerging talents including Jnr Spragga, Atenda Chinx and DJ Loz also on the bill.
The mix of established and rising acts reflects Castle Lager’s stated commitment to supporting Zimbabwean music talent — and gives Braai O’Clock a soundtrack worth staying for.
The build-up
In the lead-up to the festival, consumers can participate in nationwide trade activations at popular braai venues, where event tickets, chilled Castle Lager and other prizes are available to be won.
Tickets and event details
Tickets are available through SahwiGate at www.sahwigate.com. A limited allocation of early-bird tickets is priced at $10, after which the standard ticket price will be $15.
Each ticket includes admission to the event, a braai pack and one litre of Castle Lager Draught.
The lineup at a glance
Headliners: Winky D, Ex Q, Enzo Ishall
Emerging acts: Jnr Spragga, Atenda Chinx, DJ Loz
Plus: More than ten local artists and DJs across the programme
Event details
Date: Saturday, 17 October 2026
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