Events to get you going in March … popular festivals in South Africa

Vintage Tractor Fair

With January behind us and February almost over, suf­fice it to say we are in the swing of 2010 and if you haven’t quite hit fever pitch yet, what with the World Cup just around the corner, how about we get your excited with the upcom­ing events in South Africa in March.

... in the Free State
If you have ever vis­ited a farm or watched any sort of farm­ing pro­gramme on tele­vi­sion or even a movie with a farm set­ting you are sure to have seen a big machine rum­bling around the fields. If you are not sure what that machine is you really should get out more, but if you know what a tractor is by sight and sound and would like to know more about these machines why not head in to Clocolan in the Free State from 5–7 March for the annual Vintage Tractor Fair ...

Yes boys and girls there has been a vin­tage tractor and engine fair every year since 1989 and more than 150 of these on dis­play. Some of the tract­ors come from as far afield as Natal and will parade the streets on Friday the 5^th. You can also watch these machines take part in the National Ploughing Championship or hand plough­ing with a team of Nguni bulls. For more inform­a­tion you can con­tact Coenie on +27 (0)82 374‑4690 or Ferdie on +27 (0)51 943‑7108.

Surrender Hill Marathon

The Free State is also home to the Surrender Hill Marathon in Clarens on Saturday 6 March which is organ­ised by the Bethlehem Marathon club. There are 3 options for you to choose from, depend­ing on your fit­ness level. The full 42.2km, half 21.1km or fun 5km races which all begin at the Martie Lotz Hall. Don’t be fooled though, this is a tough course with beau­ti­ful scenery. For more inform­a­tion you can tele­phone Enslin van Blerk on +27 (0)58 223‑1042 for more information.

See more: Free State Events

... in the North West Province
Another sport­ing event being held on Saturday 6 March is the Lichtenburg Zebra Zamba and MTB Race in the North West Province. Why should you take part in this event you’re ask­ing your­self? Well the answer is simple, it is because you’ll be run­ning in a very unique set­ting, the Lichtenburg game breed­ing centre. Some of the endangered spe­cies that have made this centre their home over the years include white Rhino, Pere David’s deer, Cape moun­tain zebra and vari­ous oryx. The 32km race com­mences at 06h00, the 10km at 07h00, the 5km fun run at 07h45 and the 32km MTB at 10h30, you can con­tact Mariette van Biljon on +27 (0)84 550‑2006 for more information.

Om Die Dam

North West Province seems to be all about fit­ness this March with the Om Die Dam Ultra Marathon close on the heels of the Lichtenburg Zebra Zamba on Saturday 20 March. The pop­ular­ity of this race is due to the mag­ni­fi­cent sur­round­ings and the organ­isa­tion of the race (as it is regarded as one of the most well organ­ised in the coun­try) and is fondly known as the race for the man in the street. It takes place at the Hartbeespoort Dam and so is eas­ily access­ible to all.

See more: North West Province Events

... in Limpopo
From Wednesday 3 to Saturday 6 March the Limpopo Province hosts the Polokwane Show and Music Festival, ori­gin­ally star­ted by 2 mem­bers of the Lions Club of Pietersburg way back in 1968. Not only will 11 of South Africa’s top tal­ents be there to enter­tain you, but there will be food­stalls, a beer tent, drum major­ettes, a mil­it­ary band and a fun fair all for your enter­tain­ment. Don’t for­get to get their early on Friday and Saturday so that you get a good spot in the mar­quee. Tickets cost R50 for adults and R30 for pen­sion­ers (65+ years) and chil­dren 6–11 years. If you need more inform­a­tion you can tele­phone the events man­ager, Raymond, on +27 (0)83 625 5318.

Bosveld Mile

The Pick ‘n Pay Bosveld Mile takes place on Sunday 28 March in Bela Bela, Limpopo, now in its 12^th year. This Mile attracts swim­mers from all around the coun­try and with such a beau­ti­ful set­ting it is not sur­pris­ing. The water is clean and clear and it is also good to note that the ablu­tion blocks are clean and tidy as well. There are 3 cat­egor­ies of swim­mers, 13 years and under; 14–30 year olds and 31 years and older. If your chil­dren who are 9 years and under would like to par­ti­cip­ate there is a 200m swim. Each per­son who com­pletes the event is awar­ded a medal. Come and take part in a bit of fun!

See more: Limpopo Events

... in Gauteng
March brings the Hobby-X to Johannesburg from 4–7 March. This is the high­light of any crafter’s cal­en­dar with some­thing for every­one in the fam­ily. Undoubtedly South Africa’s biggest and lead­ing exhib­i­tions of mater­i­als, sup­plies and equip­ments for a wide vari­ety of hob­bies and crafts you will find everything from DIY to décor to adven­ture and out­door crafts and hob­bies. Thursday 4 March is exclus­ively for those in the trade and the pub­lic is wel­come from Friday to Sunday, 10h00 to 18h00 on Friday and 09h00 to 18h00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Regatta

On Sunday 7 March come and sup­port the Henley High and Preparatory Schools in their annual Regatta at Henley on Klip. Use your cre­ativ­ity because there is no limit to your cre­at­ive you can be, if it floats it can be entered, a pre­vi­ous entry was a group who floated bravely on top of a bakkie and when reach­ing the other side they drove up the banks and off. There will also be a cricket match after­wards as well as arts and crafts stalls, children’s enter­tain­ment and food stalls on offer. For more inform­a­tion tele­phone Carol on +27 (0)82 773‑5464 or Igmar on +27 (0)83 417‑4294.

The Groot Gat Fees takes place from Saturday 20 to Monday 22 March 2010 in Cullinan where you can come and enjoy a day in the his­toric town of Cullinan, the site of the dis­cov­ery of the world’s largest dia­mond (the Cullinan dia­mond, weigh­ing an incred­ible 3,106 car­ats). Don’t think that there aren’t still big dia­monds to be found, in 2009 another big one was dis­covered, this one weigh­ing nearly 500 car­ats (to give you and idea of size – that’s about as big as a chicken egg). Not only can you enjoy all the town has to offer, but there will be wine, whis­key and cheese tast­ings, food stalls, beer gar­dens and so much more.

See more: Gauteng Events

Baba Indaba

... in KwaZulu Natal
The Baba Indaba in Durban takes place from 19–22 March 2010. This is South Africa’s premier baby show, but don’t worry if you can’t get to the Duban one there are ones tak­ing place in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and even Soweto this year. You will find everything you need at this exhib­i­tion as man­u­fac­tur­ers, sup­pli­ers and retail­ers of baby care products will be there to give you advice and a chance to shop for the things you need. If you’ll be attend­ing a baby shower in the next few weeks this is an excel­lent place to find the per­fect gift. The exhib­i­tion takes place at the Durban Exhibition Centre.

See more: KwaZulu Natal Events

... in the Eastern Cape
The annual Science Festival (SciFest) is held in Grahamstown from 24–30 March 2010 and it’s a must for sci­ence fan­at­ics. With over 600 events tak­ing place dur­ing the fest­ival you can chose between lec­tures, inter­act­ive exhib­i­tions, work­shops and even edu­ca­tional theatre. This is a great option for school trips as there are high school quizzes, laser shows, sci­ence Olympics, shows and tours. Come along and redis­cover why sci­ence is in fact fun!

Bathurst Show

The Bathurst Agricultural show from 26–28 March 2010 had approx­im­ately 20,000 vis­it­ors to the 200 stand­hold­ers each year to cel­eb­rate all things farm­ing. With com­pet­i­tions, exhib­i­tions, demon­stra­tions and more you will def­in­itely find some­thing that tickles your fancy. The show takes place at Bathurst Showgrounds and for more inform­a­tion you can tele­phone +27 (0)46 625‑0759.

See more: Eastern Cape Events

... in the Garden Route
George on the Garden Route brings us the Outeniqua Expo and Festival from 5–7 March, pre­vi­ously known as the Garden Route Expo this event has been run­ning for over 50 years. Come and enjoy some of South Africa’s top enter­tain­ers as well as vari­ous themed expos such as agri­cul­tural, garden­ing, indus­trial, food and wine, hos­pit­al­ity and more. For more inform­a­tion tele­phone +27 (0)44 873‑4165, please note the event takes place at the George Showgrounds.

See more: Garden Route Events

Wedding Expos

... in the Western Cape
If you are busy plan­ning your wed­ding or help­ing a good friend plan hers then set a date to get to the CapeGate Wedding Expo at the Cape Gate Shopping Centre in Brackenfell from 4–7 March. You will find fant­astic jew­els to drape yourselves in on your spe­cial day, inspir­a­tion for your wed­ding dress, help with make-up and hair, pho­to­graph­ers to cap­ture your spe­cial moment and so much more. If you are plan­ning a Cape Town Wedding, let the CapeGate Wedding Expo make your dream wed­ding a real­ity. For more inform­a­tion tele­phone Natasha on +27 (0)78 700‑6815. (Find other Wedding Expos here).

OmniBerg ‘Round the Rock 2010’ rocks Paarl on Saturday 13 March 2010. Want a unique oppor­tun­ity to share with your friends? Why not organ­ise a trip to Paarl to taste the first of the 2010 vin­tage, unfiltered and straight from the tank in the middle of har­vest time. Your chil­dren will enjoy all of the enter­tain­ment on offer dur­ing the day and there will also be tra­di­tional har­vest activ­it­ies for you to enjoy as well as music to listen to. Tickets can be pur­chased at your first port of call on the day and if you’d like more inform­a­tion please tele­phone Sandra or Annelize on +27 (0)21 863‑4886.

Argus Cycle Tour

One of the most fam­ous events Cape Town hosts annu­ally is the Cape Argus Cycle Tour with cyc­lists from all around the world com­pet­ing in this event. Young and old can take part on Sunday 14 March this year and per­haps you will catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong who is said to have entered the race this year. With over 35000 cyc­lists it is some­thing you can’t miss, the race takes cyc­lists on 109km of some of Cape Town’s most beau­ti­ful spots.

See more: Western Cape Events

March is a busy month and this is only just a snap­shot of what is hap­pen­ing in your area for more excit­ing events check out our events sec­tion. Let us know in the com­ment box below if there are any other events hap­pen­ing in March that you’re look­ing for­ward to!

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