Francistown Jazz fest kickstarts activations
Koketso Kgoboge | Wednesday June 14, 2017 16:51
The festival that was previously billed for April was postponed the last week of that month after it failed to garner sponsorship to fully settle the artists’ bill.
A new date that twines with the city’s 120 years jubilee celebrations on September 9 was set. The festival will be held at the old Francistown Stadium.
This weekend the first activation after the postponement will be held at the Nsha Gardens in Shashe Mooke where the festival merchandise and tickets will be up for grabs. More activation sessions will follow in Gaborone, Mochudi, Palapye, Letlhakane/Orapa, Maun, Tonota, Francistown and in Mafikeng, South Africa. The dates for the respective activations will be announced in due course.
The organisers of the festival, Streethorn Promotions Company has also announced a number of new corporates in their sponsors line up to add up to the eight already on board. However, Soares Katumbela said the plight to source sponsors still continues.
“We have not attained enough, but it is promising although we are still far from our target,” he said.
“But there is no turning back now. It is promising because we are getting support no matter how little; the fact that sponsors are listening to us gives us hope besides we have to forge ahead there is no turning back, its now or never,” he said.
He said their new worry is the entertainment activities that are mushrooming in the city ahead of the jubilee celebrations.
“There are a lot of activities that are coming up and we are afraid they might cloud us, we have collided with heads already at some of the doors we were knocking on for sponsorship, but that is beyond our control. We will keep our focus.”
Amongst others, the new sponsors that have come on board are Sefalana, Skip Hire, Zambezi Motors, Ghetto Tissue Paper, Lexus (Pty) Ltd, and White Sounds and Entertainment.
The rest of the line up for the festival remains intact after Selaolo Selota replaced Jonas Gwangwa. The jazz icon, Gwangwa pulled out of the show because of health issues.