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Volume 1
May 7, 2008

US Embassy Sponsors MARK NIZER at HIFA in Harare, Zimbabwe

rockMark Nizer, flew to Harare, Zimbabwe to perform as part of the Harare International Festival of the Arts. This current hot spot of political unrest still held the festival and Mark was reassured by both the State Department and festival organizers that he would be looked after.

All three of Marks’ shows were sold out. “I was very excited about a chance to share my show with the people of Zimbabwe.” Mark said. “I took yellow fever and malaria pills, but I was able to get them in Flintstones Chewables so that makes it 10% more fun”, joked Mark.

The HOOK covered the event and Hawes Spencer reported....

“It was wild,” says internationally renowned juggler Mark Nizer, who has wrapped his three performances in the strife and famine-torn nation of Zimbabwe, where he was a featured performer in the Harare International Festival of the Arts, held in the capital city.

Nizer, who has been known to juggle whirling chainsaws and electric steak knives along with ping pong and bowling balls, has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center and at D.C.’s Kennedy Center. But little could prepare him for the country whose dictator, Robert Mugabe, unsatisfied with the March 29 election that just put him out of power, found a way, as Nizer was leaving, to get a runoff election.

“The people there are so gentle and sweet,” says Nizer. “I think that’s one of the reasons Mugabe and the military have been able to control them.”

One thing leaders haven’t been able to control is inflation, which Nizer claims is running at two percent per day. Tickets to his show were $180 million, and a little bowl of rice curry he purchased was $450 million. (He notes that even though these prices amount to just $1.80 and $4.50 American, they’re out of reach for many ordinary citizens.)

Although vexed in one effort to take a hike outside the city due to safety concerns, the Free Union resident says he was thrilled that his three sold-out performances resulted in “explosive” laughter. “There’s not a lot of food in the grocery stores,” says Nizer. “I guess they need something to laugh at.”

Local audiences will get a chance to see why Nizer is such a globe-trotter when he performs at Charlottesville’s own Paramount Theater on July 25.

zimbabwe

new webNew Web Site Up and Running

After 6 month of planning and design Mark Nizer has finish his all new web site. It is streamlined to help buyers navigate to what they need and for fans to get to cool fun content faster. All tour info is in real time and there are tons of new photos, videos and other fun stuff.

Come visit and sign the guestbook.

Visit New Site