the let them annual schools arts festival plus Carnival Roadshow and
5km & 10km Marathon to the Let Them Trust Village

don't get left out. Come join in the fun in domboshava!

Live music performances.

Dance & Visual Arts theme: Tambai

Drama & Poetry theme: Child Trafficking

Time: 7am-5pm  Date: 30 July 2022

10 YEARS OF THE ANNUAL SCHOOLS ARTS FESTIVAL

Born in 2012, the Let Them Schools Arts Festival held the very first event at Churchill Boys High with 12 participating schools. It grew over the years into a 2 day festival hosting up to 75 schools at a national and regional level. The festival was held at the Agricultural Show Ground Fun Park Area for 3 years, at Ellis Robins and at Harare Polytechnic for 3 years. 

Schools and participatings acts from Botswana Malawi, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have graced this festival with over 38000 watching their peers performing. Upcoming and Renowned artists have donated their services to not only perform but to also mentor participating schools. A number of brands and various organizations have sponsored our festival to ensure that students have a platform to perform and learn from seasoned acts.

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During 2020 and 2021 when a physical festival was impossible to host we did not stop. We held online festivals that enabled us to host international acts and audiences. Our theme for 2020 was Unlocked because no lock down was going to stop us forging ahead.

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In 2021 we streamlined our acts due to Covid 19 and the lockdowns that were put into place. We selected 5 acts, all aged between 8 and 19 years of age, from Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo, filmed them on location at the Let Them Village in Domboshava and packaged their material for online broadcast.

This year marks our 10th anniversary and our Theme is Tambai. Our platform is a space where we Let Them Play but learn whilst at play.  This event is made more special by hosting it at the festival's final home:

The Let Them Trust Village.

THE ANNUAL SCHOOLS ARTS FESTIVAL 2021

Let Them Festival 2019
Dreams Manifest

THE ANNUAL SCHOOLS ARTS FESTIVAL 2018

The Annual School's Arts Festival is a two day event featuring Poetry, Theater, Music, Dance, Visual Arts and Fashion. It is open to schools from around Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. 

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The festival has gone from strength to strength over the last 10 years and has attracted the attention of potential stakeholders in Malawi, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. Botswana has sent participants to the last two events. In 2018, through our partnership with Agora Zimbbwe and Eyes For The World, more than 250 children walked away with brand new spectacles from our generous sponsors. Furthemore 10 performing students were signed by Loud  Africa, a new talent show that is being aired on ZTV. 

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For the first time ever, we hosted an international poet. The Botswana poet, Mr Sarulebe, graced our stage and performed with Innocent Chinodakufa, a student from Churchill. The Association of Botswana Schools Performing Arts (ABOPSA) sent diplomatic officials to our festival and sponsored  young poet to perform. ABOPSA also funded 3 members of the Let Them Trust and one journalist to their festival in Botswana from the 15th to the 18th of  August in In 2018. 

We also had a six member delegation from Light of Youth of Youth Creative Organisation (LYCO), a Malawi registered trust. We  are planning to partner with them such that they bring students from Malawi for our festivals and we do the same for their festivals.

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Let Them Festival has many success stories. Some of the performers have featured at the Chimanimani Arts, Shoko and HIFA Festivals. A student from our festival was selected for the AfriKera Dance Trust Diploma and has since graduated. Moreover the festival has also provided a platform for schools with children with special needs to showcase their talent. Vimbainashe Learning Institute, Jairos Jiri Secondary School, Saint Giles and Emerald Hill School for the Deaf have all performed, and won in the Theatre Category.