Proud displays as diversity goes on show
Cultural focus for Bay Heritage Day celebrations
IT was a fusion of culture and celebration yesterday as Nelson Mandela Bay marked Heritage Day with speeches, stalls and an arts festival. Mayor Danny Jordaan attended the inaugural Northern Culture and Heritage Festival, where he praised the organisers for remembering their heritage.
He addressed hundreds of residents at the festival, held at Helenvale Primary School.
“Heritage Day is a celebration of inheritance, and we need to ensure the Helenvale our grandchildren will inherit is not the same as the one we received all those years ago,” Jordaan said.
The festival is an expansion of the Northern Arts Festival and was the brainchild of Billy Paulson, 58, to allow residents to celebrate their heritage in a safe environment.
It featured dancers, singers, drum majorettes, poets, storytellers and the Floral Park brass band, as well as food stalls.
Paulson was amazed at the number of people who supported the festival. “I am happy to see so many people come together and put aside their differences for a common goal,” he said
Festival-goers had nothing but praise for the organisers.
Helenvale resident Nevilline Mohammed, 32, said it was great to have the festival in their area.
Floral Park brass band trumpeter Leroy Jacobs, 26, said the organisers had done a great job in a short period of time.
“To me heritage means coming together, not as individuals but rather as a community,” he said.
At Vuyisile Mini Square outside the Port Elizabeth City Hall, the focus was on cultural diversity and reminding the youth of their heritage. The celebrations formed part of a series of events hosted by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for Heritage Month.
Deputy mayor Bicks Ndoni said Heritage Day was of great significance as the city was named after an icon who stood for unity.
He urged the youth to remember their culture and where they came from.
“People throughout their lives get influenced by different cultures, it cannot be avoided. We should consciously teach our children about their cultures.”
Metro sports, recreation, arts and culture executive director Noxolo Nqwazi said a key focus of the event was sharing knowledge with the youth.
“We are trying to appreciate and understand the different cultures that are represented in the metro,” she said.
A variety of cultural showpieces from Xhosa dances to Chinese martial arts were performed.
Colleen Radine, 49, was impressed with the event and said it was important to know one’s culture because “the youth tend to forget their roots”.
Sinovuyo Kewuti, 21, said he felt everyone should know about South Africa’s different cultures.
“We should not forget where we come from. It is a reminder of the past and we should learn from it.”
Meanwhile, musicians, poets and traditional dancers entertained a crowd of nearly 400 people at the DA’s Heritage Day celebrations at the Mandela Peace Park in Motherwell.
DA mayoral candidate Athol Trollip delivered a speech, saying: “It is a great privilege to stand here on Heritage Day, representing the values and principles that Nelson Mandela spent his life fighting for.”
Trollip said the Bay’s cultural and artistic landmarks had been left to go to “rack and ruin”.
Speaking about the Red Location Museum, which has been closed for almost two years, he said: “This museum offers us a comprehensive analysis and representation of our painful past.
“This past has inspired many artists and musicians to create and produce outstanding [work].
“Various film and music festivals, many of which would have provided desperately needed income for the metro and local artists, have failed to materialise due to corruption, poor planning and flawed coordination by the municipality,” he said.
The DA’s deputy shadow minister for arts and culture, Dr Allen Grootboom, said: “Heritage is about what we leave behind for our children and their children.”