Thousands attend Bulawayo street bash

Thousands of people turned the normally sleepy central business district of Bulawayo into a melting pot of revelry as they ushered in the New Year during the Shutdown Street Party.

The street bash was staged between 8th and 9th avenues, along Jason Moyo Street and was the life of the city on New Year's Eve, with rains threatening to dampen the party mood earlier on.

It was a welcome move for those who could not afford to pay cover charge to enter some establishments of pleasure in the city. The bash was for free, with being in the VIP only costing you buying a product from local food outlet Chicken Inn and producing a receipt.

It was a line-up of Bulawayo's top DJs such as Liz, Crazy D, Mzoe, Noma that Girl, Skaiva, the duo of Eugy and Babongile Sikhonjwa which steered people into the new year. It went on to prove that local DJs if given a chance, can hold a crowd of that magnitude and make them party until the break of dawn.

This was something that was missing in the entertainment calendar in Bulawayo as the only thing that could give revellers that experience, Kalawa Homecoming, was sized down. What was of concern though was that in a free show, there is not much one can do to control the crowd that had surrounded the venue.

There were all forms of characters, those who drink themselves to a stupor and start sleeping on the road, those who turn violent at the slightest provocation and of course thieves who had a field day.

Organiser of the street bash, Nkululeko Nkala said the event was beyond his expectation.

"I had never seen so many people in one spot. I liked that it was peaceful environment although there were one or two fights here and there. But overall there are shows in the city that have failed to end because of violence and shops could have been vandalised but this didn't happen which is a plus," said Nkala.

He commended local DJs for a sterling job on the decks describing their sets as top drawer.