Festival pays tribute to SA men who died on war ship
THE seventh annual Ginsberg Easter Festival was launched yesterday at the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg under the theme SS Mendi – The Centennial Salute.
Yesterday, media and some community members were treated to a theatre production Sono Sarona Mendi, which affirms the dignity of Xhosa, Sotho and Zulu men who perished when the SS Mendi sank in 1917.
The production is directed by Xolisa Ka Pakati, the training and education officer at the Steve Biko Foundation, and performed by five abelusi (mentors) under the foundation’s mentorship programme.
This year’s intake of abelusi goes to King William’s Town schools on a weekly basis to assist with arts and culture – acting, visual arts, and dance. Ka Pakati said: “We thought it was necessary for us to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of SS Mendi. It is hardly documented in our history and we thought we should bring it to the shores of Ginsberg people.”
The five-day Easter weekend programme includes the screening of Troopship Tragedy: The Story of SS Mendi documentary; the launch of a book entitled Dancing the Death Drill by renowned author and journalist, Fred Khumalo and children’s arts workshops and an Easter egg hunt.
Also on the programme is a local production, What if Jesus was a Tsotsi, which is currently on at the Zabalaza Theatre Festival in Cape Town.
Revellers can also enjoy poetry and live jazz from the University of Fort Hare Aluta band. Family Easter festivities are free and run from the April 11 to 15. —