Staff Writer
The 2023 edition of the Bulawayo Day and Bulawayo Arts Festival will be held on the 1st June
2023 – 5th June 2023.
This year’s celebrations are being held under the theme “OUR CULTURE, OUR HERITAGE, OUR CREATIVITY” and will be focused on the promotion of arts,
culture and heritage by providing incubation, support and promotion of creative industries.
Corporate communication manager Nesisa Mpofu said this year’s celebrations will entail the annual Bulawayo Day celebrations on the 1st of June 2023 at the Stanley Hall and will kick start with a Tourism and Heritage Trail tour which will start from the City Hall following the trail to Makokoba Township where people will then converge for the festivities at Stanley Hall National Monument.
The Stanley Hall has been identified as the venue as it is a Heritage Site which is key in history of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe.
“The convergence at the Stanley Hall will be to also promote community development through
heritage tourism and showcase the talent in Bulawayo through performing arts. Our focus in
2023 is on promoting Township Tourism which involves visiting places, events, and activities that reflect the history and culture of Bulawayo’s historic communities.
“The City seeks to encourage Community Based Tourism (CBT) and educational township historic tours by partnering with the Bulawayo Makokoba Township Tourism Trail, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe and the Makokoba Community as a whole,” she said.
Community Based Tourism promotes environmental protection, cultural conservation, social responsibility, and the enhancement of livelihoods.
The Bulawayo Arts Festival week (2 – 5 June 2023) will be earmarked by several activities within the City which include a Culture Craft Fair that will run on the 2nd to the 3rd June 2023 at the City Hall Car Park. The City is inviting all craft creatives who wish to participate to book
space where they will showcase their innovative creativity works and sell their wares.
On Friday the 2nd June, we are partnering with Little Lambs Nursery School and other Stakeholders on a clean-up campaign which will be held under the theme – 129 years of a Clean Bulawayo.
“The day also falls on the same day as the June National Clean-up Day and we will be partnering with other business organisations in Bulawayo and the residents to promote and restore the culture of cleanliness in the Bulawayo.
“All members of the community and corporates are invited to participate on this National Clean-up day activity as we celebrate Bulawayo’s legacy of cleanliness and encourage residents to desist from dumping litter in a bid to restore cleanliness in the City of Kings,” she said.
The Recreation section of the city in partnership with stakeholders is putting together an exciting youth Sports Gala scheduled for Saturday 3rd June 2023 at the White City Stadium. Various sporting activities including Soccer, Netball, Volleyball, Tennis, Tug of War, and a fun run are lined up for the day.
There are numerous other Programmes and activities also scheduled for Bulawayo Month and the City will be working with various partners and stakeholders.
The Bulawayo Day festivities are commemorations of the historical importance and commemorate the declaration of Bulawayo as a Town on the 1st June 1894.
The City of Bulawayo on the 2nd October 2019 resolved that an annual celebration be held on the day and subsequently hold Bulawayo Arts Festival from the 2nd to the 5th of June which is marked through City wide celebrations in the form of music, theatre, dance, food and craft fairs, cultural tourism and sporting activities to showcase the cultural creative prowess of the City of Bulawayo.
The Bulawayo Day and Arts Festival promotes and strengthens the role of arts, culture and heritage as drivers of inclusive sustainable development, through the mainstreaming of cultural policies and initiatives in Bulawayo’s urban development strategies. It further enables citizens to participate meaningfully in the cultural life of Bulawayo City, creating participatory, resilient and inclusive communities who are committed to amplifying their competencies and innovative creative capacities in their role as co-creators of the city.
Bulawayo Day and the Bulawayo Arts Festival are a celebration of our identity as a people. It is
also a celebration of Bulawayo’s resilience and strength which comes from its identity, experiences and culture. As a city, we are not only a cultural hub but also a creative engine that
has the ability to shift and define mindsets towards a united front in the development of Bulawayo and its people.
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