Zimbabwe International Faire.
I emigrated to the U.S. in 1980, and met Jme, married her, and 14 years later we went back to Zimbabwe for a holiday so I could show her the country I was born and raised in and had told her about for the past 14 years. She loved it. One of the places we went to was the Zimbabwe International Faire in Bulawayo, my home town, and the Faire was a huge fair kind of like the California State Fair in Sacramento, but it draws people from 9 surrounding countries in southern Africa - Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland (Eswatini), Angola. Also countries north of Southern Africa, like Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Congo. I used to go to to the Faire when the country was called Rhodesia, and it was a big deal back then, and it still is. My mom was still living in Bulawayo, and her husband George and she still owned and operated the largest auction house in Zimbabwe. So when Jme showed an interest in coming back the next year to sell our beads at the Faire, my mom offered to help her with booth supplies (tables, chairs, coverings, and hiring an employee to translate and assist her. Jme was super excited, and went into the Faire office and signed up for the 1994 event. They were really excited too, she was the only American business to display at the Faire, and that for Zimbabwe was a big deal As well.
