Monthly Events Lineup and Don’t Forget Christmas in Winter is Coming Up

Who would have thought it would almost be the middle of the year already. If you’re reading this wondering where time has gone this year and what you’ve already done perhaps you need to get out that diary and plan to get to some of these awesome annual events and festivals. Do you have a favourite event in South Africa? If so we’d love to hear what it is … Continued

Worker’s Day (1 May) – South Africa

If you are reading this, there’s a good chance that you form a part of the international working class and are lucky enough to have an eight hour day job.

Since the dawn of agriculture, thousands of years ago, the working class has existed, and has been exploited by a wealthier class. In times gone by people like you and I had no choice but to give into the desires of others in return for the bare minimum of living conditions equivalent to slavery. In more recent, “civilised” times this oppression has been hidden by the wage system which is only a few hundred years old. Continued

Freedom Day (27 April) in South Africa

You have to love the simplicity with which public holidays in countries, the world over, are named. South Africa’s Freedom Day is no exception. Independence and liberty are two words that come soberly to mind when taking a moment to reflect upon what this day means to us as a nation.

South Africa, our land, was set free from more than three hundred years of colonialism and more than forty years of the enforced, vicious racial segregation system, Apartheid.  It was designed, quite literally, to keep us apart and indeed, ignorant. Freedom Day is the culmination of years of protest, suffering, injustice and inequality, a day upon which every single South African man and woman, were given the rights for which so many had fought and died for. The 27^th of April 1994 saw the first ever democratic election held in South Africa. Continued

Get to Music in the Mountains this Weekend

If you have no plans this weekend consider yourself booked or if you have already made plans consider them changed because if you are anywhere near Champagne Valley in the Drakensberg you need to ensure you’re at the Music in the Mountains. What is this you ask, why it is a music festival that has been happening for over 20 years and is hosted by the Drakensberg Boys Choir. Come and be entertained with music for all, from classic melodies to the latest chart topping hits. Browse through the variety of arts and crafts stalls, enjoy a cold beverage in the beer garden and fill your bellies with some of the tasty food on offer. Guest artists at the 2013 festival include DBC, Navi Redd, Ses Snare, Blarney Brothers, Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters, Rocco and more. Full programme details can be seen below: Continued

Monthly Events Lineup and Don’t Forget Franschhoek Literary Festival is Coming Up

It has been a while since we shared some of the fantastic annual events that take place all around South Africa, but here are a couple of events that are taking place in April and May. Don’t let the start of winter send you into hibernation, you’ll need to get up off your couch and into action. With so many wine festivals you’ll need to get yourself into one of the sporting events to counteract the indulgence. What festivals will you be visiting this upcoming month? Continued

Craft Beer in Jo’burg – Which Watering Holes Serve The Brew

Craft Beer in Jozi

It isn’t only Cape Town where craft beer has made an impact on the market in much the same way as local food and farmers’ markets have impressed themselves on the food scene around the country.

Jo’burg too has managed to cast off its addiction to SAB long enough to explore the idea that beer doesn’t just come in a bottle, nor is it necessarily a lager.

But what is this fondness for putting ‘craft’ in front of the word ‘beer’ and then charging more for it?

Craft beer is beer brewed by artisans in micro-breweries. Translated into South Africanese: it’s made by a curious boet who learned the rudiments of beer making in his garage and then discovered that if you play around a bit you end up with a damn fine brew. And then he got a little more serious about it. Continued

Go Bos at Innibos Kunstefees

Innibos Kunstefees

Every year for the past nine years, the Innibos Arts Festival has welcomed an influx of people to Nelspruit, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Recently, these people have exceeded 100 000 in number. In the annual Fiesta Awards in Cape Town, Innibos was voted the country’s most popular festival and, watching the attendance numbers escalate every year, this is not surprising. Innibos began in 2003 and will, therefore, be celebrating its tenth consecutive year in 2013. So, the next festival is likely to be an even greater success as locals and tourists flock from all over to share in the fun and celebrations.

Being an arts festival, Innibos focuses on theatre and children’s theatre, cabaret, literature, dancing, drama, and so on. More than 200 artists, actors and musicians attend it each year, eager to showcase their talents and creative ingenuity, and to receive feedback, inspiration and comments from their valued spectators. Continued

Penguin Awareness Day

Ecstatic Moment

Every year on the 13^th October is Penguin Awareness Day, where we celebrate and support our penguins by raising awareness of their endangerment and how we can prevent these horrific occurrences from happening. Some do the ‘Waddle’, a short walk with a group of people and others, like myself, go to enjoy the splendid sight of watching rescued African Penguins being released at the Simons Town Penguin Festival.

In Simons Town, Cape Town, the annual penguin release is held at Seaforth beach.  I got to the beach really early and found a great spot where I could watch the penguins, who have been rescued and looked after by SANCCOB (An organisation who primarily save African Penguins and other threatened seabirds), finally released back into their natural habitat after the terrible ordeals they had experienced. Continued

To Market, To Market – 10 ‘Xmas Markets In And Around Cape Town

What’s Under Your Tree?

Christmas is nigh. Avoid the rush and the silliness of it all. Plan ahead and go to local Christmas markets. Not only will you manage to find some totally nifty gifts, but they’re locally made and you shop in the comfort of a market setting, not a supermarket.

The list below is not exclusive to Christmas markets. We’ve included a couple of other local markets where you’re sure to find appropriate gifts. You’ve roughly five weeks to go, and counting!

Rondebosch Potters’ Market – 17 November 2012

This bi-annual event always promises a feast from the local ceramic clan. Great for functional and art ceramics, tiles, porcelain plates, sculpture plant pots and art. You won’t be disappointed. Just get there early enough. Continued

In Search Of Harry Goemans – Elgin’s Open Gardens Reveal A Hidden Secret

Beautiful Walkways

Sunday in the Elgin Valley is heady. The weather is close to perfect, even if it can’t quite decide between spring and summer.

The Peregrine farmstall in Grabouw hums with an influx of visitors who use the stall as the start or finish to their trawlings through other people’s gardens. And the nursery is already doing good business as inspired individuals made off with various fruit trees for their own gardens (please note: kiwi fruit trees, pears and most citrus will not bear fruit in Cape Town!).

The Open Gardens‘ Route map on the floor at my feet, a bag of apples (you cannot visit Elgin without buying at least one bag) already open as we munch juicely, we outline the route to one of the furthest lying gardens – Boesmansrug – just beyond Eikenhof farm on Graymead Road. Continued

For The Love Of Beer

For The Love of Beer

South Africa may be known for producing some of the world’s finest wines, but it certainly has one of the most loyal beer-drinking populations in the world too. Local beers are a firm favourite, but there are also a few imports that grace the shelves of liquor stores all over the country. So, to celebrate a very real dedication to ice cold ales, South Africa is host to a number of events that centre on the crisp, barley goodness of beer.

The Western Cape

We Love Real Beer (28 September 2012) – The Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock
A R75 entrance fee includes a free beer glass and an exhibition of more than 20 different breweries. This is dedicated to craft beers – independent brewers that create new flavours and forms based on a real passion for their craft. Continued

3 Unusual Wine Festival in SA

iTownship Wine Festival

Wine festivals are designed to show off some of the finest and newest wines to connoisseurs and novices alike. They usually invite a number of wine farms to attend, revealing interesting facts and important information about a selection of reds, whites and sparklings.

However, 2012 promises some wine festivals with a twist, making them even more interesting and fun to attend, no matter how much (or little) you know about wines. Here are some of these unusual events scheduled for 2012: Continued

The Africa Aerospace And Defence Expo

Amazing Aircraft

Be sure not to miss this year’s Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo (AAD Expo) at AFB Waterkloof in Pretoria, taking place on 22 and 23 September 2012. For only R50 entry fee per person, you get to enjoy the continent’s largest air, sea and land expo. This expo showcases some of the most impressive aircraft, trucks, armoured vehicles and defence vehicles in the world.

Demonstrations, flight simulators, vehicle simulators and model building are all on the cards for visitors to the exciting AAD Expo. Such experiences are perfect for families, young and old. This is a well-known and -respected event on the aviation and defence calendar, but is also ideal for the less specialised aviation and vehicle enthusiast. It gives those within the industry the ideal opportunity to showcase their premier products, equipment and services. This is a platform for new business opportunities, but also for the sheer thrill of all things land, sea and air. Continued

Earthdance For Heritage Day

A Musical Extravaganza

The South African heritage is a complex and fascinating one, and we celebrate it on Monday, 24 September; Heritage Day. From 21 to 23 September, the world’s largest synchronised dance and music festival held for global peace takes place in Johannesburg, Durban (only on 22 and 23 September) and Cape Town. Since such a large proportion of our heritage is about the struggle for peace and equality, this is the perfect way to celebrate this special day.

Earthdance is a global collaboration that began in 1997. Since then, it has been held in 80 countries and a total of more than 500 venues. All events are characterised by the simultaneous joining together of its attendees in an official Prayer for Peace. Continued