Mihlali Festival

MIHLALI FESTIVAL

Mihlali Festival is designed to bring together artists and audiences from diverse backgrounds to celebrate South African heritage while building a sense of unity and pride. It includes skills development workshops, mentorship, and performance platforms to empower youth, stimulate creative entrepreneurship, and build long-term capacity in community arts. The Mihlali Festival is a dynamic community-based arts initiative designed to uplift, unify, and empower the people of Zola through music, craft, dance, and drama. Hosted during the February Month, it focuses on social cohesion, capacity building, and inclusion, ensuring that all members of the community—including people with disabilities, youth, and women—are actively engaged and represented. The festival offers inclusive programming with accessible venues, sign language interpreters, and adaptive workshop formats to ensure full participation of individuals with varying abilities. Creative activities are structured to be interactive and empowering, providing opportunities for self-expression, storytelling, and cultural pride. In addition to celebrating diversity, the project addresses key social and economic challenges by providing paid opportunities for performers, facilitators, and support staff, many of whom are emerging talents from marginalized backgrounds. Youth will receive mentoring in creative entrepreneurship, production, and facilitation, while persons with disabilities will be supported to showcase their work and talents