Buyel’Ekhaya launches fashion extravaganza
THE popular Buyel’Ekhaya Pan African Festival kicks off on Sunday at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium.
The festival, now in its eighth year, has grown tremendously over the years and this weekend’s show will see the introduction of the Buyel’Ekhaya fashion development programme.
The inaugural fashion show takes place tomorrow at the Orient Theatre.
Featured artists for the fashion show will include the notable Xhosa traditional instrumentalist Madosini, sultry jazz vocalist Nomfundo Xaluva and the dynamic Mdantsane-based Slo Foot King Brothers.
The fashion show will feature works by top designers Thula Sindi, David Tlale and a number of local designers.
This year’s festival, in partnership with the department of arts and culture, Buffalo City Metro and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA), promises to be even bigger and better.
The lineup features headline acts including the iconic Dorothy Masuku, trombone virtuoso Jonas Gwangwa, legendary African pop artist Ringo Madlingozi, multiaward winning DJ and record producer Black Coffee, Siphokazi, Msaki, AKA, Babes Wodumo, Mobi Dixon and Dumza Maswana.
Festival founder Hlubi Mazwai said she believed it was critically important to provide “a worldclass lineup” to ensure a sustainable and reputable brand.
“Buyel’Ekhaya has always been about celebrating what is Eastern Cape, what is South African and what is African. It is about our unique cultural identities and that is what we aim to deliver in each and every lineup,” she said.
Mazwai promised the festival would remain committed to ensuring the safety of all patrons and had put together a team of the best security and production companies in South Africa to make sure everything went off smoothly.
Recently the show’s organisers announced a no cans policy but later retracted it saying: “A compromise was reached to allow cans into the music festival with the understanding that additional security will be deployed for the festival.
“The total number of security personnel for Buyel’Ekhaya Music Festival now stands at 526 officer.”
● Tickets for the festival cost R200. Entry for the fashion show tomorrow is R150. All tickets are available at Computicket. —