Maitisong Festival returns with a bang

The annual Maitisong festival returns this April for another thrilling edition. The festival, one of the most popular events in the city, has for years been one of the platforms that fuses both local and international shows, giving arts lovers exciting nights of theatre, dance, poetry and live music.

The event  is billed to take place from April 1st-11th, at various venues across Gaborone. As is the case each year, there will be paid and free shows in order to give everyone a piece of action.

According to a press release, the festival, which is in its 13th year, is one of the biggest arts festivals in Botswana and attracts international and local artists bringing theatre, music, dance, slam poetry and comedy to fee paying audiences in several festival venues around the city as well as non-stop music shows to thousands of revellers in under-privileged areas for free.

The release further reveals that this year, Maitisong is proud to celebrate three decades of arts promotion, raising the bar in the arts and making careers and connecting Botswana artists with their international counterparts. “The arts continue to play a pivotal role in advancing peace and stability while contributing to the socio-political and economic discourse through art works of integrity,” reads the release.

This year, the festival will be held under the theme: “Enrich” extends from “Engage” in 2016 and ‘Elevate’ in 2015. According to the release, all the themes reflect clarity of purpose for the need to professionalise the arts by pushing the envelope, pushing the bar higher and ensuring that professionals work together and with the audiences and sponsors to elevate their game.

An excerpt from the release explains that: “This was achieved through the exceptional performances presented by local and international artists to raving reviews. The 2017 theme seeks to encourage artists to earn a decent living out of their talent as is the case in other countries. The arts must enrich them.”