A serious jester at funny affair
HUNDREDS of people were in a jovial mood on Saturday as they took to Pretoria’s streets to mark the 15th anniversary of the Feast of the Clowns Festival.
With their faces painted in tune with their colourful attire, demonstrators raised awareness of the social justice issues affecting children.
They hoisted placards bearing messages against abuse of children and marched peacefully from Burgers Park, where the main event was hosted. They walked along Jeff Masemola, Lillian Ngoyi, and Bruce streets, proceeding to Thabo Sehume Street.
They later headed back to the park, where they enjoyed an open-air razzmatazz from poets, comedians, rappers and kwaito artist Dr Malinga, among others.
The event was organised by the Tshwane Leadership Foundation under the theme “And a Child Shall Lead Them”. The main purpose was to highlight the importance of children in society, and to raise awareness about issues affecting them. Organisers called for a renewed and intensified commitment from all stakeholders and role players towards creating a vibrant and healthy city for children.
The festivities, which lasted the whole day, was attended by hundreds from the city. There were various stalls like that of non-governmental organisations Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa and Heartbeat. There were also tents where some people went for HIV tests.
The downside of the festival had been the lack of support by the City of Tshwane, said one of the organisers, Joel Mayephu.
He said the city withdrew its support despite the promise it allegedly made during last year’s festival to back the event in future.
Mayephu said the city had discouraged the organisers from hosting it this year on the account that there would be a Gauteng carnival in Pretoria on September 24.
In the past, the city had financially backed the festival by hiring buses to transport residents to the venue.
Mayephu said a lack of transport had affected the turnout. Usually the event would attract at least 3 000, said Mayephu. But this year, there were about 900.
Event chief executive Wilna de Beer said on the brighter side, the occasion had brought together the diverse inner-city community.
The festival started last Tuesday with various activities, including the launch of the Tshwane parental network – an initiative that encourages parents and children to do things together.