Jozi will bid farewell to a landmark year with a vibrant celebration of music and art on New Year’s Eve, when the Joburg Carnival once again brings the city’s streets to life.

Joburg Carnival to ring in 2011 in style

Now in its seventh year, the City of Joburg’s annual carnival has become a favourite fixture among residents – providing them with a constructive creative outlet to express their festive spirit on 31 December.

This year, the Joburg Carnival’s theme is “Jozi My Jozi, My City”. The colourful parade will start in Kotze Street in downtown Jozi at 12 noon on New Year’s Eve, and will proceed through the city, over the Nelson Mandela Bridge and end at Newtown Park during the afternoon.

Expect an exuberant assortment of troupes, choirs, bands and floats making their merry way through the city – and residents are encouraged to line the route to check out the spectacle, or even join in the fun.

“Carnival is the most exciting project in the city for many reasons,” says Steven Sack, the City of Joburg’s Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage.

“Most importantly, it provides opportunities for young artists to participate in a wonderful spectacle: to design, paint, dance and construct a performance that moves through the streets in celebration of the end of one year and the beginning of a new year.”

Residents are currently hard at work in recreation centres across the city, with locals and foreign nationals coming together in the spirit of unity and tolerance to create costumes, floats and other carnival paraphernalia. During these carnival camps, they learn valuable carnival arts skills that could ultimately earn them a living.

Hosted by the City of Joburg, in partnership with the municipal-owned entities (MOEs) and the South African Police Service, the Joburg Carnival celebrates the creativity and diversity of Jozi, and provides a safe New Year’s Eve activity for inner-city residents and the youth. Police statistics indicate that the carnival has directly resulted in lower crime levels in the inner city over New Year since it was initiated seven years ago.

“This year’s carnival will be time to say goodbye to 2010 and to welcome in 2011,” adds Sack – so come and join with other Jozi families in the fun and jollity on 31 December, and see in the New Year in grand, celebratory style.

blackdogg Media: whis is the Heart Boy?

blackdogg Media: whis is the Heart Boy?: "All is Revealed After Vuka! Awards Ceremony It would be difficult for anyone who owns a TV set, listens to the radio or reads a newspaper,..."

whis is the Heart Boy?

All is Revealed After Vuka! Awards Ceremony

It would be difficult for anyone who owns a TV set, listens to the radio or reads a newspaper, not to be aware of the enigmatic “Heart Boy”; the sweet young kid who’s been interrupting reporters and presenters by appearing out of the blue, giving them a little red heart, and then melting into the distance as quickly as he’d arrived.

Of course, by now, some people may have twigged that he is linked to M-Net’s Vuka! Campaign; the annual competition which encourages the Advertising and Film industry to make pro bono adverts for important social causes and charities.

This year, the theme for the creatives was “art with a heart” – and the entire advertising industry got behind the Vuka! Awards. Newcomers and Professionals all working to find creative and inspiring ways to create awareness about pressing social issues and encouraging South Africans to get involved.

The 2010 M-Net Vuka! Award winners were announced and crowned at a glittering ceremony in Kyalami on Tuesday night, November 30th. But what of the young sprite himself? Who is the boy that’s been winning hearts - in addition to handing them out?

The 12 year-old charmer, it turns out, is Katlego Dlamini, a Grade Six pupil at Theo Wassenar Laerskool in . He loves attending school and his favourite subject is science, although he’s also very involved in his school’s extracurricular activities, such as cricket, soccer, chess and swimming.

Katlego is also an aspiring actor who learned to get over his initial nerves after his first audition at the age of six - and has never looked back. Acting, he says, gives him a break from playing with his friends, and he also gets a kick from seeing himself on TV. Despite his passion for soccer and acting, however, he seems to have other plans for his future, and insists that his goal is to become a heart surgeon. What is it with Katlego and hearts?

Said M-Net’s Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications, Koo Govender: “Katlego was the perfect ambassador for M-Net’s Vuka! Campaign. He showed us all that a small gesture with a good heart can have a huge impact.”

Perhaps most revealing of all was a comment that Katlego made when his identity was revealed yesterday: “I just like to make people smile!”

Masakhane Festival celebrates 21st birthday with colourful variety

 

The Masakhane Arts and Culture Youth Festival celebrates its 21st birthday from 10 tot 18 December 2010 with a colourful variety of theatre, dance, music, poetry and workshops. The festival is hosted in the Emndeni Youth Centre in Soweto, Gauteng, but hosts young people from across South Africa as well as neighbouring countries.

Besides workshops ranging from contemporary dance and acting to drumming, this year’s festival programme includes theatre productions by theatre legend Gibson Kente, Bongani Linda, Julian Seleke Mokoto and Ntshieng Mokgoro (2009 Winner of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Drama).

Also on the programme is the Imbube Music Programme and competition, which will be held in the Emndeni Senior Secondary School Hall on 4 and 5 December. The programme and competition aim to popularise imbube and isicathamiya music.

Hostel dwellers, the bigger Soweto community and music lovers are invited to join in a celebration of indigenous folk music and movement. Participants not only make music, but also compete as the best dressed. It is not so much about the outer beauty, but rather a display of movement and colour.

The Imbube Music programme is a developmental initiative and caters specifically for organisations based in the Soweto hostels. Besides finding new talent, it is also a celebration of the diverse cultural richness in Gauteng.

The competition will start on 4 December at 18:00 and end on 5 December at 06:00. Entrance is free.

The Masakhane Arts and Culture Youth Development Project was created just over two decades ago by the youth of Emndeni in Soweto and is funded by the NATIONAL LOTTERY DISTRIBUTION TRUST FUND (NLDTF). The aim is to empower and develop young people who are artistically inclined. The annual event offers an opportunity to these talented young people to showcase their skills and also exchange cultural activities.

The Masakhane (‘togetherness’) Festival nurtures love and respect for each other’s background, language and culture. At the same time the youth development project encourages women to play the leading role in various organisations in the South African arts industry.

This year’s festival opens with a musical festival on Firday 10 December, featuring artists like Chomee, GP Gangsters, Pro Kid and Deep Soweto.

The mainstream theatre productions that will be performed in the Emndeni Youth Centre daily at 19:00, include the following:

10 December – Thursday’s Child by Ntshieng Mokgoro
11 December – Sins of a Man, directed by Thapelo Motloung
12 December – Marry the Unfaithful Woman, directed by Julian Seleke Mokoto
13 December – Carrot Sisters, directed by Bongani Linda
14 December – Garden Boy, directed by Kunene Nyembezi
14 December – Torn Apart, directed by Darlington Michaels (starting time 19:20)
15 December – Mfowethu, written by Gibson Kente
16 December – Remorse, directed by Duma Mnembe
17 December – Pot of Fire, directed by Charles Sello Mphana

Entrance to all the shows and workshops is free and open to the public.

Some of the workshops offered feature Thulani Didi & Kere Nyawo (Zone 14 Popeye & Spinach)guiding the various youth groups through a presentation about musical theatre, Duma Mnembe tackling theatre and Thuli Mazibuko (lead singer of the award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir) sharing secrets about music and music-making. Young people from KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and other areas in and around Gauteng are transported by bus to attend the various activities that are offered free of charge.