Ralph, our landlord, got two turkeys which now roam around on the farm and, I guess, take a swim on occasion to cool down.

Lucy and Rachel, our volunteers, left Livingstone on Saturday. We had such a busy week, we hardly had time to spend any time together during the final week. We did spend time with them at the Waterfront Lodge on Thursday night and a final goodbye hug on Friday after our show. We will definitely miss their contribution to LiPAF and the way they came to love all the people who surround us each day. They are two lovely and talented young women who were very generous to those they met.Now that we are open at the Capitol with “African Shoes” we have been assigning various responsibilities to our staff and they are all keen. We have now started sharing the marketing tasks, organization of costumes and props, and a host of other duties previously taken on by either Marilyn or myself.Last week, I also met with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in charge of Cultural Affairs and I have a meeting on the 24th with the Deputy Ambassador from the American Embassy in Lusaka. We are trying to get financial assistance to install permanent lighting in the Capitol and also a grant to help organize the many culture and arts groups in Livingstone which seem so fragmented.We had a great write-up in the Post Newspaper, which is Zambia’s most widely read paper. A lot of people now know what we are doing and there is a real buzz in Livingstone about LiPAF. Hopefully it will translate into larger audiences for our shows.

The next few pictures are from our Dancing Around Zambia Show at the Sun.

Here he is holding a Makishi Mask – we are not able to perform Makishi dancing in our show because there is a restriction that only Makishi can do it

We also had some great news from the Zambezi Sun Resort. They are beginning construction on a new performance venue on the grounds of the Sun just for our show “Dancing Around Zambia”. We are also getting the much needed visibility soon with new posters and flyers, pop-up banners, and permanent flyers in each room. It has been a real struggle to market at the Sun and we know many guests remain unaware that we are performing. Last night we had several couples arrive at the end of show who wished they had known. We invited them to watch the last few numbers but obviously didn’t generate any revenue from their attendance.

Luapula Province -the Bemba doing Infunkutu, a dance performed on the eve of a wedding

Lozi people of the Western Province performing Taiaka, a traditional song

The witch doctor tries to find out who turned the bus into a water monitor lizard in Western ProvinceThe permanent lighting for the stage at the Zambezi Sun should arrive in two weeks. As soon as it does, we will be adding another night of performances meaning shows will be held Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at the Sun. It has taken a long time to get to this point but we do appreciate the support of our NGO by the Sun management and staff and particularly the General Manager, Mr. Craig Storkey.

Often the guests at the Sun like to have their picture taken with the cast after the showSince our band is not needed for the Dancing Around Zambia shows, they have been busy seeking gigs in and around Livingstone on their nights off. Last night they had their first gig at the Rite Pub and Grill. Marilyn and I and all the cast arrived at the Pub around 10:30 and we all had a fun night together. Marilyn joined in for the last few songs of the evening.