Zimfest Association

Zimfest Association’s mission is to support and grow the global community of people who love and participate in Zimbabwean music and arts through events, education, and resources.

Goals

To produce an annual festival.
To provide information and resources to individuals and organizations with a shared interest in Zimbabwean music and arts.
To provide a forum for ongoing, community-based dialogue.
To give back to Zimbabwean musicians and their communities.
To help facilitate the visits of Zimbabwean artists to North America.

Values

We believe:

Music and dance build community through shared experience and expression.
Zimbabwean music brings together all ages to connect in a joyful and meaningful way.
Traditional Zimbabwean music is timeless and nurtures our spirits.
It is important to honor those teachers who planted the seeds of Zimbabwean music around the world.

This is why we share the music.

Further Information

First conceived in the early years of the festival, Zimfest Association (ZA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that was formed in 1999. ZA provides financial, technical and emotional support to Zimfest organizing committees while giving them the freedom to make each festival a unique yet familiar celebration of Zimbabwean music and culture.

Zimfest has become a huge production and even though the organizers volunteer their time, the festival’s annual budget can be almost $100,000. While most Zimfest budgets are planned to break even, the festival has been fortunate to make a small profit each year since 1999. Zimfest Association has been able to give back to Zimbabwe by donating Zimfest profits to organizations working in Zimbabwe. Since 2002, Zimfest Association has contributed a total of $54,710 to Mbira, Ancient Ways, Tariro, HopeFirst, Dispatch Foundation, Patience Chaitezvi school project via Kutsinhira Cultural Arts Center. ZA has also funded audio recordings of Zimfest concerts and production of the Zimfest 2000 CD.

Where will the next festivals be held? ZA provides continuity, experience and the seed money to help grow the festival. If your group or community would like to host Zimfest in the future, please contact Zimfest Association.

Most ZA Board members are former festival organizers: Jennifer Kyker Bangoura, Chris Freeman, Julie Ishihara, MyLinda King, Marilyn Kolodziejczyk, Angela Marie, and Alex Weeks. We would appreciate your input or feedback on any aspect of the festival. The ZA Board can be reached via email at board [at] zimfest {dot} org.