Category Archives: Festivals

Melrose Arch Set to Become South African Fashion Week’s New Home in September 2024

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South African Fashion Week (SA Fashion Week) will be hosted in Johannesburg’s Melrose Arch Precinct in September this year.

The country’s premier designer fashion platform will be moving into its new home for the Autumn/Winter ‘25 Collections from 26th to 28th September 2024, says director, Lucilla Booyzen.

This year’s event will adopt a dynamic new format that will combine runway shows staged in an intriguing “never-used-before” space in Melrose Arch, with a line-up of lifestyle and brand activations throughout the precinct.

“SA Fashion Week’s vision over the past 27 years has been to explore sustainable business models that can leverage fashion’s economic and social influence for the benefit of all the stakeholders involved,” says Booyzen. “We are delighted to be partnering with one of the city’s most exciting lifestyle precincts, in one of its most historical areas, to develop yet another such mutually beneficial venture.”

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Animé Film Festival Coming To South African Cinemas

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The popularity of Animé content, known as animation in Japan, has exploded in recent years, with an entire subculture passionate about the film and television series in this colourful and captivating genre. Following on the success of The Boy and The Heron’s release earlier this year in cinemas, Gravel Road Distribution Group is now bringing South African audiences a cinema-first…. a dedicated Animé film festival celebrating the iconic Studio Ghibli, on the big screen, starting this August.

The Japanese Studio Ghibli is one of the most acclaimed animation studios in the world, and the home of some of the most beloved Anime works to have ever released. Founded in 1985 by film directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki, the globally renowned studio has produced twenty-two feature-length films, and won numerous accolades, including two Academy® Awards, a Golden Globe and the coveted Cannes Film Festival honorary Palme d’Or. (The first time in history a company has been bestowed this prestigious acknowledgement).

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Food for Thought: Food Indaba 2024 Sparks Fresh Dialogues

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Good or bad, delicious or bitter, the kitchen table is where food, economics and politics often meet – and for the past ten years, Food Dialogues has been exploring this in our complex food system in unconventional, educational and fun ways. This year, with a new name reflective of its roots and group dynamic, Food Indaba 2024 is taking place from Monday 22 July to Sunday 04 August with various events at venues across Cape Town, including the V&A Waterfront precinct, Mowbray, Langa, Philippi, Lynedoch and Stellenbosch.

Food Indaba features a range of events, both ticketed and free. Many are open to the public, while some, which are geared more toward academic and industry audiences, are by invitation only. One of the informative free events for all to attend is the Pan African Webinar hosted by Afrifoodlinks. The online webinar titled Power and Hunger is a significant discussion about the weaponising of hunger. The annual in person conference with the same title, for the first time this year, will be a full day affair and will see the D-School (UCT’s design school) creating a Design-Dash, which is a design thinking problem solving toolkit around the solutions to food issues.

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Amex Tennis Town at Montecasino

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Following the announcement of their multi-year partnership in March 2024, Tennis South Africa (TSA) and American Express are pleased to host the Amex Tennis Town, a fan park during The Championships, Wimbledon 2024.

The Amex Tennis Town will be held from 5 to 14 July 2024 (from 1 pm to around 10 pm) at Montecasino and will host up to 1500 people per day.

The Amex Tennis Town aims to create a comprehensive fan zone that reimagines the traditional viewing experience by combining live Wimbledon screenings with a range of engaging activities and a food village which will provide a wide range of culinary delights including traditional favourites like strawberries and cream.

An interactive activation area will allow guests to engage with tennis-related activities. Attendees will be able to capture unforgettable moments with photo booths, dive into virtual reality tennis activations, and challenge friends at tennis gaming stations. Tennis enthusiasts will also be able to showcase their skills on a full-size tennis court with interactive coaching lessons.

The Amex Tennis Town will also feature live entertainment from DJs during breaks in play, providing a memorable and entertaining experience.

American Express Card Members will enjoy a 50% discount for entry to the Amex Tennis Town, priority seating at the front of the main viewing screen, 20% off at the Wimbledon Shop, 10% off on food and beverage, and other benefits such as branded gift packs.

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South Africa Celebrates A Cultural Treasure As The 50th National Arts Festival Begins

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PICTURE: MARK WESSELS

Drums rolled and choirs sang out as Makanda celebrated the opening of the 50th National Arts Festival. A contagious sense of national and regional pride resounded from the dignitaries who attended the milestone Festival ceremony held in the very same auditorium where the Festival was first launched in 1974.

The Festival’s home town of Makhanda is also the childhood home of the National Arts Festival’s Deputy Chair, writer and academic, Dr Siphiwo Mahala. He remarked on the journey of the Festival from a gathering founded to preserve British language and culture to “one of the most inclusive and diverse arts festival’s in the world.” Mahala said this was possible in part because of the shared values and enduring partnership of the Festival’s partners.

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