THE inaugural Simunye Fest has prompted calls for changes to its venue and duration, following public reaction to the event held at Vuvulane over the weekend.
After the festival, the Simunye Fest Facebook page shared a post titled ‘Simunye Fest delivers the inevitable, despite challenges’, accompanied by a video of the country’s duo Dusty and Stones performing on stage.
Other videos shared from the event showed performances by local acts, including DJ Mazwelany.
The posts attracted comments from members of the public, many of whom encouraged the organisers not to give up, while suggesting improvements they could consider when planning future editions.
Some questioned whether the three-day format was suitable, recommending that the festival be shortened to a single day.
“Consider doing a one-day show next time,” one Facebook user commented, while another said “Don’t plan for a three-day event next time. One day is more than enough.”
The choice of venue also featured prominently in the discussions, with some users suggesting that the organisers consider moving the event to Mhlume or Simunye Stadium.
One commenter wrote “The venue change was a big factor. Keep going though. Simunye Fair was a big, big event; it can be done again. All the best.”
Others suggested Big Bend as a possible location for a future edition, while some urged the organisers to improve their marketing by working with content creators who have large social media followings.
Despite the criticism and suggestions, several people encouraged the organising team to treat the experience as a learning opportunity rather than give up on the festival.
“Don’t give up, next time organise yourselves better. Collaborate if you have to. Don’t let us down!” one user wrote.
Another said, “Greatness comes with a learning curve. Every big event comes with its challenges, but what matters is learning, growing, and coming back stronger.”
Other comments expressed hope that the festival would eventually attract bigger crowds, with one user predicting that it could become a sold-out event in the coming years.
The discussions follow the organisers’ announcement ahead of the festival that they were expecting more than 5 000 people to attend the three-day event, which ran from October 30 to November 1 at Vuvulane in the Lubombo region.
At its media launch, the organising committee described Simunye Fest as more than a music event, presenting it as a cultural, entrepreneurship and lifestyle gathering built around 12 interconnected experience zones.
The planned zones included a main stage, camping facilities, a family area, carnival games, fashion and lifestyle activities, tourism experiences, as well as spaces for networking and content creators.
However, the public comments following the event have placed the venue, duration and marketing approach among the issues organisers may need to consider in planning future editions.
Organising committee member Msutfu Masilela had indicated that he was attending to other matters and would get back to this publication once he was done. He had not provided an update on the overall outcome of the festival by the time of going to press.
