The Sunday Mail
Andrew Moyo – Leisure Reporter
Passion. That is what Starbrite is all about.
And it was in full display, hearts worn on sleeves, as the curtain came down on Starbrite 2014 the with announcement of winners at Long Chen Plaza’s 1+1 Happy International Club in Harare last weekend. The judges did their bit, and the electronic votes showed Blessing Chidzurira was the star who had outshone 26 other finalists to be crowed the overall winner of the competition.
After winning the singing category, Chidzurira went up against winners from six other categories, SOS Herman Gmeiner (Traditional Dance), Luckmore Magaya (Poetry), Ricky Nyoni (Dance), Gerald Masara (Zim dancehall), Godlwayo Wushu (Special) and Tawanda Dhibhura (Junior) to be named best of the best. Blessing walked away with a residential stand courtesy of Vantage Homes, 30 000 bricks from Msasa Bricks, 20 000 bricks from Willdale Bricks, 40 bags of cement and US$2 000 worth of interior décor from Capital Décor.
Before getting all this for being the overall winner, he had already been given US$500 by the Culture Fund, a recording and publishing contract worth US$10 000, a Doves Lifestyle Funeral Policy for a year, an all-expenses paid trip for two to Victoria Falls and many other goodies for winning the singing competition. Category winners and their runners up did not leave empty-handed and received prizes like recording contracts, cash and hampers.
The final day of Starbrite started with a combined performance by the finalists who, despite minor glitches, put on an exceptional show, fusing song, dance, martial arts, drama and poetry.
The they were called back to the stage to justify why they deserved to be top of the pile.
And unlike in previous editions where winners would get their prizes on a later date, organisers this time ensured these were given out there and then.
Starbrite 2014 closed with a performance by Chidzurira, who showed once again why he came out tops. The competition has become a national do, with even prison inmates participating.
Starbrite founder Barney Mpariwa thanked their sponsors for their support, saying he was working to make the show even bigger next year. “The show came to a very successful conclusion with a deserving young man winning the overall prize, making him a home owner and beneficiary of a very comprehensive recording contract among other fantastic prizes,” said Mpariwa.
