For the second year in a row the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival (JVFC) totally rocked the spectacular Victoria Falls as over 5,000 revelers from all over the world descended on the national heritage park for an unforgettable New Years’ experience. Three days of sensational music, adventure and adrenalin activities set at one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The festival kicked off on the 29th of December with the sold-out Train & Secret Bush Party. 500 lucky ticket holders had the chance to take a beautiful old world steam train through the Vic Falls wilderness while local DJ, DJ Francis created an exceptional atmosphere for the universal partiers, all connected through their love of music and adventure. With local and African artists like South Africa’s Dan C and Toby 2 Shoes and Botswana’s Sebastian Dutch the experience continued off the train, deep in the bush, set amongst Africa’s wildlife and lit up by green Jameson glow sticks and a canopy of African stars.
After an extraordinary first night, for the first time ever, on the 30th of December the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival burst into a multi-coloured hue of celebration with the Colour Festival! CU Rage from Namibia quickly set a tone for day’s festivities while attendees, dressed in white, grabbed their packets of pink, green, yellow, blue and orange powder. Zambian Eleftherios Mukuka, South African Anthea Scholtz, and Namibian Rob Macson & Nic Fourie kept the crowd jamming while they threw their packets in the air and covered the blissful partiers in neon shades.
As expected New Year’s eve was the highlight of the exciting festival. Set at the local Vic Falls Farm School, thousands of local and international attendees turned out for a New Year’s unlike any other. Zim’s afro-classic band Intotal opened the night with their live jazz infused set. Followed by the charismatic Zambian Winky D, dressed in a full vibrant orange suit with matching headdress and shoes, he had the audience in the palm of his hand, calling out ‘We are all ninja’s”, he got everyone in the spirit to ring in the New Year. South African chart toppers Beatenberg took to the stage next and although their lead singer Matthew lost his voice and was unable to perform they promised to give everyone a special DJ set and they definitely delivered with their indie house mix including their own hits Pluto, Chelsea Blakemore and Rafael.
The crowd went crazy for local legend, Oliver Mtukudzi, who, through his uniquely soulful set, united the global fanbase, with his humble yet passionate presence. The crowd hanging on his every word and movement, a true highlight of the evening. Goldfish completely took over the stage with their engaging theatrical performance starting off with a dramatic Lion King intro reminding everyone of the beautiful setting. Their energized set included a spectacular laser show, huge inflatable balls, live instruments and their renowned screen animations. The night reached a climax with the engaging local MC Tinashe, cheering the crowd on for the New Year’s with a 1 minute countdown, culminating in the moment, where all present ushered out the old year and together, welcomed in the new year, all to the backtrack of Goldfish’s addictive dance hits, African adorned stilt walkers weaved through the crowd and LED poi dancers on the stage all joined in the sensational New Year’s moment! Zimbabwe’s Jason Le Roux kept the festival attendees on the dance floor with a great DJ set and Judgement Yard closed the epic evening with their trademark dancehall tunes.
Despite the rain party lovers couldn’t stay away from carnival and grabbed their DStv ponchos, creating a sea of blue-hooded party people sipping on Jameson. Whether you were getting your name printed on a Coca Cola can or chilling in the rustic outdoor Zambezi beer garden, the festival kept overjoyed attendees in the New Year’s spirit.
Special thanks to our great partners, Jameson Irish Whiskey, DStv, GWM South Africa, Zambezi Lager, Fly Africa, ZiFM, Coca-Cola and Burn Energy Drink for their support.
Festival organizers Seed Experiences stayed true to their environmental ethos by bringing Environment Africa onboard to give festival goers the option to ‘green their ticket’ by donating $5 with which the organization plants a tree on their behalf.
Were you there? Check out the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival Facebook page for photos and to be the first to hear about the 2015 lineup.
Waking Life Magazine 