US Friendship Festival 2025
A weekend of music, culture, community, and connection
September 5–7, 2025 | Louisville, Fort Collins, Loveland, Lafayette CO
Festival guide here
Friday, September 5 — Kumusha (Rural) Traditional Immersion Experience
with traditional musician Sekuru Musekiwa Chingodza
📍 Rocky Mountain Kumusha for Zimbabwean Music & Culture
9722 Empire Road in Louisville
🕒 5:00 pm | Free & open to the public
- 5:00 Gathering
- 5:30 Water Blessing
- 6:00 Potluck Dinner
- 6:30 Land Blessing and Stories
- 7:00 Jiti Drumming + Singing (bring any drum you have – all levels!) led by Musekiwa
- 8:00 Sister Friendship Festival 2025 (Zimbabwe) Film Screening
- 9:00 Mbira circle around the fire (bring your instruments!)
✨ Bring headlamps/flashlights, a dish to pass, your picnic blanket/chairs, close-toed sturdy shoes, bug spray, and your drum/s and mbira
Saturday, September 6 — Sculpture & Flavors of Africa
📍 Fort Collins + Loveland + Lafayette
- 12:00 pm – Group Lunch at Ras-Ka Restaurant, Fort Collins
– Traditional East African cuisine, festive atmosphere, and community time
🌍 https://www.raskasauce.com - 2:30 pm – Tour of Chapungu Sculpture Park, Loveland
– Explore 82 monumental stone sculptures from Zimbabwean artisans traversing 26 acres of natural and landscaped gardens.
@ 5995 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland, CO - 5:00 pm – Group Dinner at Ras Kassa’s Restaurant, Lafayette
– Traditional East African cuisine, festive atmosphere, and community time
🌍https://www.raskassas.com/
Sunday, September 7 — Concert Showcase
📍 Steinbaugh Pavilion, Louisville, CO
🕒 12:30 pm – 6:00 pm | Free & open to the public
Celebrate the joy of global rhythms at the Friendship Festival Concert Showcase! Experience the lively sounds of Zimbabwean marimba performed by local groups Kutandara – Midzi – the Ambassador Band – Mhodzi – Tanaka -, the enchanting tones of Gamelan Tunas Mekar featuring traditional Balinese Rindik (bamboo ensemble), and the powerful beats of Ghanaian drumming and dance ensembles Logo Ligi and Mokomba.
Headlining the concert and joining us from Zimbabwe, world-renowned gwenyambira Sekuru Musekiwa Chingodza takes the stage alongside local master Sekuru Edward Muchineripi and vocalist Chipo Muchineripi for an unforgettable evening of music, dance, and cultural connection.
12:30 Logo Ligi (Ghanaian drum + dance)
1:00 Kutandara, Midzi, Ambassador Band, Mhodzi, Tanaka (Zimbabwean marimba)
3:00 Tunas Mekar (Balinese rindik)
3:30 Lesbian Tendencies (US indie rock)
4:00 Mokomba (Ghanaian drum + dance)
4:30 Musekiwa Chingodza & Friends (Zimbabwean mbira)
We’ve always got something new going on! And we want YOU to join us – to find out if we are what your life has been missing! So many people have had a transformative experience at Kutandara…will you be one of them?
