Carnival ushers in the new year

Stiltwalkers and giant puppets, colourful floats and dancers from all the city’s regions defied the downpour to bid farewell to 2011 and kick off celebrations for 2012, Joburg’s 125th birthday.
SHOUTS of “Halala Joburg halala!” reverberated along Kotze Street in Hillbrow as thousands of participants in the annual Joburg Carnival danced and pranced, ignoring the pouring rain.

Dancing up a stormDancing up a stormMember of the mayoral committee for community development, Chris Vondo, led the chant perched high on a float at the corner of Kotze and Klein streets. Sporting a black cap emblazoned with the Joburg logo and a white golf T-shirt and visibly impressed by the scene before him, Vondo welcomed carnival-goers from all the city’s regions taking part in the parade, urging everyone to welcome the new year in style.

The event, held each year on the day before the new year, attracted scores of spectators. Some joined in the celebrations whilst others gaped at the huge, colourful floats moving along the streets. People gazed down at the spectacle from balconies whilst taxi drivers and people in private cars hooted and shouted “Happy New Year!”.

The theme for this year’s carnival - the eighth year of its existence – was “Jozi, My Jozi 125”, marking Joburg’s 125th birthday this year.

The carnival celebrates the city’s diversity, with people from different ethnicities and nationalities taking part. It aims to encourage camaraderie and build social cohesion.

A lot of hard work and rehearsals went into the creation of the floats, costumes and performances, with mini-parades in the different regions held in the run-up to the main parade.

The spectacle started at noon, with the heavens opening up but certainly not dampening the spirits of the participants.

Leading the parade was Region C, proudly displaying a huge banner with “Going Green, Going Clean” written across it in gold, blue and purple. Just behind the banner a float in the shape of a huge green and yellow chameleon was followed by energetic singing and dancing girls and boys.

Giant puppets entertain the crowdGiant puppets entertain the crowdImmediately behind Region C came the world famous giant puppets from The Giant Match Association, a non-profit organisation. The giant puppets appeared during both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Soccer World Cup. They have also been showcased in Swaziland, the Reunion Islands, Madagascar and the United States of America.

Little children gaped at the monstrous figures, marvelling at the way the puppets danced to the music blaring from the back of one of the floats. Not to be outdone, stilt-walkers in splendid purple, red and blue colours pranced about, shaking hands with the spectators.

Probably the most attractive float was the huge cake, complete with candles and with the words “Joburg 125th Birthday” written at the base.

As the parade moved through Braamfontein, the rains – which had let off for a bit – poured down again, threatening to derail the celebrations. At the Nelson Mandela Bridge, the carnival stopped so the regions could demonstrate their dance moves.

Here, Region E displayed what they are made of, showing off energetic dance moves to the thumping beats from their drummers.

Summing up the carnival, Vondo said it was an “exciting” event.

“The carnival was incident free, very colourful and one of the best ever held by the City. The rains also blessed the carnival and the attendance was very high. It was all very exciting,” he said.

From the bridge, the carnival moved off to Newtown Park for the “after party”, a celebration of dance, music and poetry by all the city’s seven regions.