The Lounge Launch 13.2.09

Huge amount of things happened since I last wrote, so I will attempt to write about a few of those. Slightly daunted at the prospect of trying to do justice to it all...

So, we launched the Lounge and that has been a major theme of the past 2 months - an exciting one too.

The Lounge is a monthly open mic night at the art gallery in Bulawayo to bring people, talents, opportunities to perform and a great place to hang out, together :)

Setting up beforehand had it's amusing moments. Hauling a particularly large sofa (white, plastic-covered and semi-circular, no less) from one side of town to the other was a highlight, not to mention the effort of trying to get it out the door of the house it was in! What amused me most was the lack of attention that driving through Bulawayo with a whopping great sofa precariously balanced on the back of a (now dwarfed) pickup, complete with two guys sitting one said sofa at one end to weigh it down actually caused!

So onto the next day and the launch itself. Very gratifying to see the response and the general buzz about the place. The vibe of the night was awesome, as was the calibre of the performers and the way it all came together. I love how the event belonged to those who were there, it was owned by the performers and audience. There was also a good mix of people and acts and was so well attended. The next day we met to take back PA equipment and debrief over coffees & donuts and reported back that overwhelmingly the response had been positive & there's a buzz around the event so that throughout the arts community people were talking about the Lounge. Above all, it shows that with relatively little, but with some determination and commitment, things can still be done in Bulawayo that are exciting, positive and count for something!