Bulawayo Day to focus on promotion of arts, culture and heritage

Bulawayo (New Ziana) -Bulawayo City will this year partner a number of stakeholders to promote Community Based Tourism (CBT) as well as conducting township educational tours as part of commemorations to mark the day it became a town in 1894.

Some of the stakeholders that the city council will partner include the Bulawayo Makokoba Township Tourism Trail, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, and the Makokoba Community.

Bulawayo Day is celebrated on June 1 every year and will run concurrently with the Bulawayo Arts Festival until June 5.

The commemorations mark the day Bulawayo became a town in 1894.

Bulawayo City corporate communications manager Nesisa Mpofu said this year`s celebrations will focus on the promotion of arts, culture, and heritage by providing incubation support and development of creative industries.

The celebrations will run under the theme “Our Culture, Our Heritage, Our Creativity.”

“By collaborating with the Bulawayo Makokoba Township Tourism Trail, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, and the Makokoba Community as a whole, BCC hopes to promote Community Based Tourism (CBT) and educative township historic tours.

“CBT promotes environmental protection, cultural conservation, social responsibility, and the enhancement of livelihoods,” Mpofu said.

She said the annual celebrations will kick start with a tourism and heritage trail tour.

“The tour 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,” she explained.

Stanley Hall was identified as the venue since it is a Heritage Site that is key in Bulawayo’s history and that of Zimbabwe, she added.

Mpofu said their main focus this year is on promoting Township Tourism which involves visiting places, events and activities that reflect the history and culture of Bulawayo`s historic communities.

“Converging at Stanley Hall will also promote community development through heritage tourism and showcasing the talent in Bulawayo through performing arts.

“Bulawayo Arts Festival week will be highlighted by many activities across the city, including a Culture Craft Fair on June 2 to 3, 2023 at the City Hall Car Park,” she said.

As part of the commemorations, Mpofu said their recreation section with other stakeholders will hold a youth sports gala on June 3 at the White City Stadium with a number of sporting activities including soccer, netball, volleyball, tennis, tug of war, and a fun run lined up for the day.

“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.

“Bulawayo Day and the Bulawayo Arts Festival are a celebration of our identity as a people. 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,” Mpofu said.

New Ziana