Festival celebrates the diversity of Cape Town
18th ‘One City, Many Cultures’ event a great day of fun and feast for the family
THE COMPANY’S Garden was a picturesque scene of family fun and entertainment by popular artists who serenaded the hundreds of Capetonians enjoying the 18th One City, Many Cultures Cape Town Festival.
This year’s festival was themed “African Queens” and encompasses concerts and youth workshops. The event was established in 1999 to encourage “creativity, inclusivity and togetherness”.
With at least 2 000 people expected at times, the festival was in full swing yesterday. The programme started on Saturday and ends today, Human Rights Day, in order to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre of 1960.
Four Corners and Suidooster actor Irshaad Ally guided the audience through a line-up of hip-hop, jazz, belly-dancing and choir acts.
Mother-of-two Reinette Roziers, 40, of Kraaifontein, said she brought her sons, Cuan, 11, and Raydon, 8, to the concert in order to introduce them to the culture that she grew up with.
“It is my first time attending the festival and I thought that I needed to show my boys what is going on and introduce them to our culture while enjoying the acts on stage. Thus far, it has been a wonderful experience.”
On the peripheries of the Company’s Garden, the “Kiddies Zone” occupied toddlers for hours, while some of the parents rekindled their romance by dancing the tango on a stage nearby.
THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL WAS THEMED ‘AFRICAN QUEENS’ AND ENCOMPASSES CONCERTS AND YOUTH WORKSHOPS
Sylvia Westcott, 68, of Sea Point, said she had been dancing since the age of five and could not wait to do the Argentine tango.
Citing her experience in ballet, flamingo dance, belly-dancing and the Argentine tango, Westcott said: “The only thing that I have not done is pole dancing because I am too old.”
Festival chairman Ryland Fisher said the festival was launched at a time when the city was divided and when hate existed between different groups of people.
“The vision of the festival is still very relevant today. To think that after 22 years of democracy we have to launch an anti-racism campaign, we never really thought that we would have to do that.
“One City, Many Cultures is effectively an anti-racism campaign.
“More than that, it is about bringing people together despite their differences and the differences could be in terms of race, class, gender or religion, etc.”