Lilongwe warms up to FCB Street Bash
When First Capital Bank (FCB) hosted a street bash in Blantyre in April, revellers in Lilongwe must have turned green with envy.
FCB might have sensed what the yearning fun seekers in the capital city were grappling with and on Saturday, they made sure they settled the scores.
When the moment came, the capital city dwellers showed what the event meant to them. The Paul Kagame Highway was transformed into a party haven.
The event was scheduled to start at 4pm, but even before then, revellers had already started arriving, ready not to miss an ounce of the fun.
Two stages were mounted and event host Anne Matumbi kept the flow of things as lively as possible. His trademark freestyles were a regular feature.
Just after 5pm, songstress Tuno raised the curtain.
Dancehall artist Malinga also had his turn. His popular song Arasi had the audience on cloud nine and before he bowed out, he showed some freestyle skills with MC Anne Matumbi.
Don Tarz, Eli Njuchi, who was sporting an FCB Nyasa Bullets replica jersey, also had their moment on stage.
Zeze Kingston, Kell Kay, Black Missionaries Band and Lulu also showed their mettle.
However, there was some dampener on the flow of things, when Lilongwe City mayor Richard Banda announced that three road accidents had been recorded that afternoon that claimed one life.
“I am urging you to exercise caution as you are going home. We want you to get home safely,” he said.
One of the patrons, Manfred Ndovie, who is also a well-known event organiser, commended FCB for giving local artists a platform to showcase their art.
“It is a great initiative as it is giving an opportunity to local artists to expose themselves. Unlike other festivals and events where the headline artists are foreigners, this one had local headliners,” he said.
FCB head of marketing and communication Twikale Chirwa said the bash met its objectives as it allowed their customers to interact with their brand and products and execute their sponsorship launch.
“We sold our civil servants loans and the audience had an opportunity to win the Bullets replica jersey,” he said. n
