Food for Thought: Food Indaba 2024 Sparks Fresh Dialogues

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

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

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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Inaugural Mzansi Food & Drink Show

Set to become one of South Africa’s biggest culinary extravaganzas, the inaugural Mzansi Food & Drink Show will rock the Kyalami International Convention Centre from 15 to 17 June 2024.

This is the brainchild of RX Africa, the company behind some of the country’s premiere events, including Decorex, Comic Con Africa, Africa Travel Week and FAME Week Africa, and the Ring of Fire Chilli Festival.

The three-day event will incorporate two previous independently held events, the popular Fire & Feast Meat Festival and the successful Coffee & Chocolate Expo, as well as three new additions – the Fine Food & Wine Show, the Bar & Good Spirits Showcase and the Mzansi Food Market.


Says Hanli Goncalves, Portfolio Director of the Mzansi Food & Drink Show: “As a foodie nation with vastly different dishes and tastes in the melting pot, South Africans are ready for a food and drink show of this stature and we will be serving up the biggest and the best culinary show on the African continent.”

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New Stage Musical “The Magic Box”

Disney’s The Magic Box, a theatrical experience developed in association with Disney Theatrical Group, presented by Fever, together with Proactiv Entertainment and RGB, and produced by leading local promoter Showtime Management, announced the world premiere of its English-language production.

The show, featuring an all-South African cast and crew, opens at Artscape, Cape Town, on 9 October for a limited seasonand then transfers to Montecasino’s Teatro, Johannesburg, from 22 November before embarking on an international tour.

The musical, which originally premiered with great success in January 2024 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, immerses the audience in an unprecedented theatrical adventure that combines puppetry, elaborate costumes, and projections in an innovative and large-scale staging. The show is a sensory experience that pays tribute to the art of animation and invites the audience to reconnect with the legacy of Disney music through the stories, songs, and characters that have accompanied them through the different stages of their lives. Disney’s songs merge into an iconic original score, and the characters come to life through various theatrical techniques, magnificent choreography, and the voices and performances of a South African cast of 26 top-notch artists.

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