Last weekend, the Sunbird Nkopola Leisure Centre hosted the first edition of the Sand Arts Festival, the newest baby from Impakt Events Management.

For two days, the venue was transformed into a beehive of endless activities and fun offered by artists plugged from all types of art disciplines. Talk of poetry, theatre, music, comedy, dance and visual art, it was all under the same roof.

If we look at the organisation of the event, there is little we can fault the organising team on. It has become a habit for event organisers to delay the start of events, mostly with flimy justifications.

But on Saturday Impakt Events waited for nobody. The performances started according to the  programme regardless of who was there or not. That enhanced the discipline of the performers throughout as each one of them appeared on stage at the allocated time.

Those in the habit of turning up during late hours surely missed a big part of the performances. The discipline in terms of time management eventually meant the event ended at the appointed time on Sunday evening, allowing patrons time to rest before starting off to their destinations the next day.

However, what the organising team got wrong was the promotion of the baby. Considering that it was happening for the first time, a little aggression on the marketing and promotion part would have done the event good.

Unlike the Sand Music Festival which has been around for 13 years now, this new event needed to be pushed firmly in terms of awareness. In fact, there are some out there who can’t still draw a line between the two events.

But clearly, from the way the event was executed, there is a serious demarcation between Sand Arts Festival and Sand Music Festival. The focus on art in its wholesale made the event to be unique and it is my prayer that the oranisers will maintain that DNA.

There were no serious security breaches recorded and the choice of the venue complemented the feel and outlook of the event.

I won’t dwell on the stars which shone during the performances. But poet Q Malewezi underlined why he is still the best in his league while YDC Theatre gave a reason for people to believe that stage theatre is not yet dead in Malawi and Zeze Kingston reminded everyone why he is the hottest musician of the moment.

Now on the reverse side. Two years ago there was one artist who was destined for stardom; Rashley. His meticulous vocal ability on his ballads made him a favourite among music lovers. Even among his peers, he was the voice everyone wanted on his song.

His strides rightly earned him numerous bookings and in no time he was on the Sand Music Festival performers list. That must have excited a lot of his fans who had been dying to see him perform at such a big stage.

But when the moment came, the Ndidzasangalala star fluffed his lines. He gave an awful performance which became a source for banter on social media. He later admitted and apologised to his fans that he was overtaken by the moment and never prepared well.

Preparation is always the key word when it comes to such outings. Just like the case with Rashley, some trending artists at the festival flirted to deceive too. For instance, I expected a lot from Gibo Pearson and Joe Gwaladi to shine, but what they gave their fans was a raw deal.

One needed to have sharp ears to make out exactly what they were singing. Even their popular songs failed to light up the fire. Which is very strange for a song which is part of every merry-making gathering.

The artists need to be reminded that such opportunities come only once. Through such platforms you can open opportunities or write your own epitaph. But otherwise, the Sand Arts Festival was a good outing and a lot is expected of it next year.

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