After five years of jaw-dropping parades and entertainment Cape Town Carnival promises more.
With up to 50,000 people expected to attend this year, Cape Town Carnival has set a world standard on how to celebrate our city. We chatted with Cape Town Carnival creative director, Brad Baard, about what to expect this year. By the sound of it, it’s going to be an urban celebration in true Cape Town style.
This year’s carnival along the Fan Walk into Green Point sees collaborations with organisations and artists from AfrikaBurn, UNIMA SA (the South African association of Puppetry and Visual performance), the Handspring Trust and the District Six Museum. The theme this year is “Street Life”. Brad says that “Street Life embraces the diversity of people and the different situations found on the streets. It explores the dynamics at play in shared public spaces such as: who’s in the fast lane? And who’s being sidelined? Who’s just trying to make it by? The theme this year explores transport, travel, vendors, entrepreneurs, ambition, opportunity, street style, street food and fashion.”
The carnival seeks to turn the ordinary occurrences of rush-hour traffic, traffic jams, lunchtime, leisure and night life into an extraordinary production that will temporarily put a pause on the city.
Carnivalgoers can expect wild costumes, fantastic floats, expertly choreographed dances, and performances by more than 2,000 talented participants from across Cape Town and the rest of the world. “There will be acrobats, stilt walkers, hip-hop, pantsula and capoeira performers, drift bikers, cyclists, skateboarders, roller derby players and a special commemorative float honouring District Six,” he says. There will also be a variety of food trucks, and various crafts along the Fan Walk.
A few well-known faces will be there such as Siv Ngesi, Liezel Van Der Westhuizen, Deon Bing, Sibongile Mafu, Tim Thabethe, Ryan 0'Connor, and stars from Suidooster. Among the familiar faces are talented performers Die Nuwe Graskoue Trappers (fresh from a World Music Festival triumph), Flywheel Cycles and Street Stylers to name a few. General entry is free while seated and VIP tickets can be purchased online at quicket.co.za.
Experience it for yourself:
Cape Town Carnival
capetowncarnival.com
This article originally appeared in Neighbourhood, Sunday Times.
