Motse wa setso cultural festival back with new twist

FRANCISTOWN: The annual Motse Wa Setso Cultural Festival, which aims to revitalise the City’s energy and encourage cultural diversity, will feature African attire with a vintage twist.

The cultural event will take place at the Francistown Old Stadium on April 27. It will feature South African singer, Johnny Mokhali, as the headline performer. The legendary Tswana soul singer began performing in 1978.

Around 26 cultural groups performed during the first epic cultural event last year, which took place at Molapo Leisure Gardens. Legends such as Dr Vom, of the timeless hit, Tsaya thobane, Ditiro Leero, Maghebula, Matsieng, Dikakapa, Tshumu, Jojo, Ramozara, Matsosangwao and several others performed during the previous event.

The event organiser, Ontiretse Zuma Bakaile, also known as Nthinthie in the music industry, stated in an interview with Arts&culture that this year’s event had a twist following the introduction of a vintage and African attire theme.

According to Nthinthie, the cultural festival will begin with an official opening ceremony in the morning, presided over by Assistant Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Buti Billy.

Nthinthie also announced that after the opening ceremony, there will be a family-friendly day that ends in the evening and is followed by a cultural night. He stated that there will be a variety of family-friendly games on the family fun day, like quad bike races, horse races, and jumping castles.

He challenged fans of jazz and traditional dance to be prepared to dance to a variety of songs, including namastap, dikhwaere, hosana, phathisi, and sebirwa. He also revealed that Johny Mokhali will share the stage with local artists such as Culture Spears, Dinkwenkgonga, Masganda.com, Nkwita, Solly Sebotso, and the Francistown Ensemble at the cultural night event. Local DJs will serenade the attendees with their mixes, including DJ Bunz, Cue Deck, and others.

“The idea behind having Johny Mokhali participate was to showcase vintage attire during the cultural event,” he said.

It is expected that the maestro of SA Tswana soul music will perform hits like Batlogeleng, Lerato Ka Mogala, Pule, and other songs that are still played on local radio stations.

He mentioned that local companies can rent out corporate stalls and food. Tickets are sold at the Tatitown Choppies, Nzano and Nswazwi Spar, as well as other outlets, via web tickets. Children’s tickets sell for P40 each, while single, double, and VIP tickets go for P70,

P100, and

P550.