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Talent Gore
Imagine an open space scene, far from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle, providing an intimate chill-out event for adults and loads of fun things to do for the children.

Well, outdoor events will match your imaginations to the tee.
Over the past few years, outdoor events have taken over showbiz by storm.
Different open spaces in Harare are places to be for those who want to enjoy their weekends in a laid back environment as they host the famous Unplugged, Cookout, Fiesta Fiesta, Forest Fest and Picnic On.

These outdoor events have grown to become significant fixtures on the capital’s leisure scene with hundreds of people attending each edition.

They have been offering different vibes, a setup that has definitely spiced up Harare’s party experience.
Most of them are picnics where people bring their cooler boxes, camp chairs, blankets and whatever it is they might want to sit on as they enjoy drinks and food with good music animating the ambience.

With no fashion police in sight, there are no predictions on what to expect from the crowd with some arriving in their cleanest outfit for the weekend while some make statement with their funky pieces we normally would not see anywhere else.
These events have become a haven for alcohol lovers who supposedly flaunt their expensive taste in them.

You find groups of people enjoying brands like Hennessey, Ciroc, Ace of Spades and Champagne.
Prominent bottle poppers including Killi Killi team as well as the Power Circle are always on the radar.

However, despite these events taking over showbiz, during the rainy season there seem to be less numbers at the functions.
Obviously there are some who like these events to the extent that they will always attend, even if it means for a few hours they will still attend.

This month’s edition of CookOut was a complete disaster as it started to rain way before the event and people even thought it was going to rain throughout the day.

When the rain stopped some revellers made their way to the event despite the cloudy weather which promises of more rains.
It then had started raining in the evening and the event had to be cut short because there were no too many tents to accommodate everyone.

The strength of these events is, no matter the venue, the teams know how to create an environment for revellers to chill and have a great time.

They have been so consistent at doing this, such that even on a rainy day “party freaks” just go out and enjoy.
Show organiser for these events said they were ready for the rainy season and that they were prepared for it.

Chuckie “DJ Chucknosis” Kofi-Teye Ayisha, the brains behind Fiesta Fiesta, said despite the rainy season they will still host their monthly events.

“We are aware that this is the rainy season and we are prepared for it, last Saturday when we held our November edition we pitched tents because we knew that the weather might switch up,” he said.

“We want people to enjoy themselves and so we will not let the rain jeopardise that. We will make sure that this rainy season people enjoy without the fear of the rains.”

He said just like any other outdoor event, it was meant to celebrate food, music, booze and just having good vibes.
“We just want people to come through and hang out with friends, meet new faces, enjoy food and drinks while just having a good time,” Dj Chucknosis said.

“It is true that we normally ignore things like weather reports, but they are important.”
Dj Chucknosis reminisced on how he started Fiesta Fiesta.

“When I started hosting Fiesta at Centurion, it was a huge success with numbers ranging from 1 500 people to 2 000 attending,” he said.

“After the fallout, we hosted one at Country Club and it flopped due to clash of events and we had only about 700 people attending.”

He added: “We then decided to chill for a whole year as we focused on polishing the brand and planned a major comeback this year.

“We decided to have a small Fiesta just to test the waters and surprisingly the turn-out was amazing as we had about 1 600 people attending,” said Chucknosis.

All of these events start at noon with a laid back braai and booze vibe that is complemented by music in the background.
It turns up a notch at around 8pm up to midnight and usually there are after parties around the capital’s popular clubs.

Events like Unplugged, Cookout, Fiesta Fiesta are increasingly becoming the preferable hangout spot because they are age friendly.

They accommodate families, they bring out playground to their venue for kids to enjoy themselves, unlike clubs which have age restriction, outdoor events cater for all age groups.

They are perfect for family outings.
There are some people who are regulars at these events to such an extent that they do not miss even one edition.