Lifestyle SA Festival – Celebrating Black
“Afropolitan” is the word that has been coined to describe South African black people who are deeply rooted in their culture, which they consider to be at the forefront of their identity, but at the same time acknowledging that they exist in a cosmopolitan environment influenced by westernized preferences and consumption habits. The “Lifestyle SA Festival – Celebrating Black” to be held in at the Cape Town International Convention Center in Cape Town, South Africa, from 7-9 December 2007 will fully embrace the Afropolitan identity.
The Lifestyle SA Festival – Celebrating Black will encourage preservation of black culture and the building of the local economy, which can be achieved by embracing and supporting local talent with regard to fashion, music and the arts. Visitors to the festival will be treated to a stylish sensory blend of sights and sound that represent the very core of the unique Afripolitan lifestyle. This will include hospitality lounges to facilitate networking opportunities, as well as a spotlight on fashion featuring local designers.
Visitors can look forward to being entertained by a number of popular Afro-Fusion bands and comedians. Included in the line-up is Miss Lira, who is considered to be one the hottest new Jazz superstars in South Africa. CODA will be there to showcase their increasingly popular contemporary home-grown sound of combining African music with electric strings and a DJ. The multinational, multiracial group that has gone global, Freshly Ground, will entertain visitors with their style of music which blends Afro beats, dance, funk, jazz and a classical influence. The Three Young Tenors from Gugulethu show that opera music still has a prominent place in society today. Jazz maestro, Jimmy Dludlu will showcase his musical talent that has earned him multiple awards.
The social upliftment program, the Houtbay Music Project, will allow the talented children from the Houtbay informal settlement the opportunity to show how they have made good use of team work and creativity in forming their incredible orchestra. Comedians Loyiso Gola and Ndumiso Lindi will give some comical insight into the intricacies of the “new” South Africa from a black perspective.
A marquee will be set up at the festival, where Mzolis Place, a popular Tshisa Nyama spot in the Gugulethu Township, will be recreated for visitors. Excellent entertainment will delight visitors as they enjoy the food that Mzolis Place has become famous for.
With the event kicking off in Cape Town and being followed up with a festival in Johannesburg from 2 to 4 May 2008 and in Durban from 29 to 31 August 2008, there’s little doubt that the Lifestyle SA Festival – Celebrating Black will become an established part of the South African Afropolitan scene.
