District Six Schools Festival
A GROUP of schools in the historically significant District Six is hosting a community festival to bring together its new and old communities, and to raise funds for continued quality education in this part of the city bowl.
The water-wise #ZonnebloemSchoolsFestival is a celebration of inclusive community spirit and creativity – through theatre, dance, song, art, magic, food and even a Guinness Record attempt – in the heart of old District Six.
The festival on May 12 will be held in collaboration with the Zonnebloem Boys’ Primary and Zonnebloem Girls’ Primary schools – which are celebrating the 160th birthday of their schools on the historic Zonnebloem College Estate – and the Children’s Art Centre, the only dedicated art school for children in the city bowl, also on the estate.
Pupils from the Children’s Art Centre have spent the past few weeks making thousands of hand-painted sunflower hats for festivalgoers with the goal of breaking the current world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as sunflowers.
“A school in Malta broke the record with 938 participants last year, and we know with Cape Town’s support we can easily smash that record on May 12 and put the beautiful Zonnebloem schools and District Six on the global map,” said Karen Breytenbach, one of the organisers of the festival.
Tanya Ronne, the principal of Zonnebloem Girls’ Primary, said: “We are very excited to be part of this event, which has taken the organisers months to plan.
“An event of this magnitude is a first for our schools and we are extremely fortunate.
“We are looking forward to seeing many ex-staff and learners rekindling memories of times spent at the Zonnebloem schools. We also appeal to the community of Walmer Estate to come and support the festival.”
A number of Capetonian cultural icons will take to the stage at the Zonnebloem Schools Festival, which starts at 11am and ends at 4pm.
Popular Cape Town comedian Rob van Vuuren and his wife, Danielle Bischoff, will perform their trilingual children’s book, Florence & Watson.
Playwright and children’s book author Sindiwe Magona, who was recently awarded an honorary D.Litt by Rhodes University, will perform her isiXhosa musical production, Kwathi Ke Kaloku, with a stellar cast including jazz great Bongani Sotshononda and his United States of Africa Band, in association with the Cape Town Music Academy.
Acclaimed magician Jacques le Sueur, who has performed for presidents, royalty and packed audiences in Las Vegas, will wow the audience with his mind-bending magic. Cape Town contemporary and R&B star Lloyd Jansen, who has performed all over the world as a solo artist and as part of the popular Black Ties, will get the crowd dancing with his smooth, soothing sounds.
Also on the programme will be a performance by the Zonnebloem marimba group, led by NGO MusicWorks, a dance routine by the award-winning Zonnebloem dancers of Thabisa’s Dance Academy, and a visit from the African Tails rescue dogs. There will even be a mobile spa in a “magic forest”.
The festival will also offer a host of children’s entertainment including rides, face paint, glitter, tattoos, a petting zoo and a games area by SisandaFundation where many prizes are up for grabs. The market stalls will include food trucks for all tastes, including Halaal and vegan, as well as luxury hot drinks and smoothies, a tuck shop, home bakes, carnival fare, arts and crafts, memorabilia, as well as a cordoned-off bar selling craft beer, gin and wine.
The event is co-sponsored and supported by the public benefit Otto Foundation, a small philanthropic organisation working on the Zonnebloem Estate, the Cape Times and Sanlam Investments, as well as a range of NGOs including Save Our Schools, a water awareness and management NGO which is assisting in making the festival water-neutral.
Get your tickets now on the early bird online special at ticket site plankton.mobi: https://plankton.mobi/… /76fc5952-d1d1-4046-bce382d81ed83c4d. See Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ZonnebloemFestCT2018/.