Blantyre residents will enjoy a full day of arts and cultural activities on October 7 courtesy of a new partnership between Blantyre City Council and Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF).
Addressing the media during a joint press conference, Blantyre City Council chief executive officer Denis Chimsewu said the Blantyre Arts and Cultural Festival aims to celebrate multiple cultures of Blantyre City residents.
“The festival aims to promote and celebrate arts and culture in the City of Blantyre. In the past, BAF concentrated more on arts, but now we also want to bring in the cultural aspect,” he said.
Chimsewu said over the years, Blantyre has seen rapid urbanisation and with it came various people from different ethnic groups whose cultural values continue to be under threat.
“We want to use this platform to celebrate culture and teach the young ones that culture is beautiful,” he said.
Chinsewu said as Blantyre City Council, they are devoted to revamping culture and arts celebrations in the city.
“We will use the festival to engage city residents to promote trade that is related to culture, among other things,” he added.
On his part, BAF founder and director Thomas Chibambo said the joint venture is long overdue.
“As city fathers of Blantyre, we have always wanted to partner with them. Now that we have come together, it means the festival will be more powerful and promote more aspects of arts and culture than before,” he said.
Chibambo said Blantyre City Council has been supporting them silently all along, but now they have decided to make the support official through the partnership.
He said: “During the festival, we will show that there is unity in diversity as Blantyre has people from different ethnic groups. They will all come together to celebrate, which is unique.”
The event, which will take place at Kamuzu Stadium upper ground, will start with a street carnival from Blantyre City Civic offices to the venue where various activities such as traditional dances, music, and art exhibitions will take place.
Some of the event’s sponsors include Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority, Global Internet.
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