PICTURE: Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair’s electronic media partner ZBC TV chief producer Mr Paul Gama (left) and marketing executive Mr James Musekiwa (centre) inspect traditional food as the trade fair director Mr Hebert Phikela (right) looks on. Insert: Tsonga stakeholders at the heritage site.
ALL ROADS will lead to Chiredzi South come next week as corporations, civic and non-governmental organisations, artist(e)s, students, small-to-medium enterprises, government ministries and departments, learning institutions, tourism operators, lodges, media houses and cultural tourists descend on Boli Mhlanguleni business centre to attend the fourth edition of the Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair.
Partnerships, packages and prizes are in store for the extravaganza.
Media partnerships
The Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair allotted The Manica Post as its official print media partner to cover its events prior and after the gala. Apart from the wide circulation that the paper has in Zimbabwe, the trade fair organisers were impressed with how the weekly paper from the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe has been featuring tourism articles week in-week out.
The Manica Post scored a first when it introduced a tourism column mid last year in addition to other tourism related news it has been featuring time and again in its print version as well as online. This has set the publication on a pole position as far as print media tourism coverage is concerned.
Another media partnership was entered between Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) for electronic media coverage. This has seen ZBC TV flying a two-minute trade fair’s advertisement starting this week on its television channels.
ZBC TV as the sole television operator in the country has been covering tourism news since its inception. The TV guru shall give a live coverage of the trade fair. With the capacity of business news reporters and Masvingo bureau, there is no doubt that the TV channel shall live its billing.
Packages
Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair is a platform that offers business, tourism and cultural exposition. The trade fair has set packages tailor made for each target group. The food and drink zone shall cater for traditional foods and drinks. Traditional yoghurt shall be availed at the fair.
A Tsonga cultural village is complete at Boli Mhlanguleni where Centre for Cultural Development Initiatives, the organiser of the fair, was allocated 10 ha of land by Chiredzi Rural District Council. An undiluted portrait of Tsonga traditional life shall be showcased there.
The village also incorporates the heritage zone. Natural ornaments near the Tsonga cultural village shall play as key features of linking the past and the present. Delegates shall get a treat of Tsonga initiation graduation ceremony. The ceremony is a unique part of Tsonga males and females.
Fine arts, crafts and performing arts like music, traditional dance, drama and fashion displays shall take place. The theme of this year’s edition of the fair is “Promoting women through culture, conservation and value addition.” A lot of women in rural areas engage in arts and craft entrepreneurship. The trade fair is trying to add value to their products by marketing them to the world.
Kids shall be treated with folk life of the Tsongas. A lot of kids have lost touch with how kids of yester years were positively treated and empowered in the home. Experienced tutors shall hold workshops for the kids in order to teach them life skills.
Prizes
Three tourism prizes shall be won by participants. The first one shall be a Kariba cruise raffle to be won by eight people. The winners shall spend two days and nights in a Kariba Dam house boat. The tickets are going for $20.
The second and third prizes are open for school children courtesy of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge and The Malilangwe Trust. Winners shall get a treat at the sponsors’ resorts. Tickets are going for $1 each.
The fourth edition of the Great Limpopo Cultural Trade Fair is a must attend.