In new premises at Nasrec, the festival, now in its seventh year, can boast over 500 exhibits, sports, concerts galore, cookery demonstrations, Miss Teen Soweto Finals and more.
THIS year’s Soweto Festival Expo promises an exciting Heritage Day weekend for the entire family at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec.
There is something for everyone There is something for everyone Running from 23 to 25 September, the festival will include over 500 stands exhibiting a range of services and products, including furniture, home and kitchen appliances, travel and tourism, health and beauty, fashion, arts and crafts, property and City of Johannesburg services.
According to the Soweto Festival Expo website, over 7 000 square metres of exhibition stands are available, offering the consumer and trade visitors an unrivalled range of goods and services to satisfy every need.
Sports such as soccer, boxing, climbing walls and foosball will be available. Other entertainment includes hip-hop competitions, fashion shows, Miss Teen Soweto Finals on Saturday at 4pm and cooking demos of traditional food.
According to Toby Chance, managing director of Adele Lucas Promotions, the organisers of the festival, the line-up will appeal to everyone. However, “the line-up of activities will be particularly appealing to the youth,” says Chance.
“We need to create opportunities for young people in this country who are immensely talented, and part of the festival expo’s objective is to broaden their horizons,” he says.
Artists
The festival will see established artists such as the multi-award winning hip hop trio Teargas, house music duo Liquideep, Khuli Chana and Ngomso hit maker DJ Clock entertain the crowd on Friday from 4.30pm to 8.30pm.
Hip-hop artist Khuli ChanaHip-hop artist Khuli Chana will perform at the festivalOn Saturday, Goldfish will perform at 7pm, and thereafter popular radio personalities such as Kaya FM’s Bob Mabena and Thibos as well as Metro FM’s Wilson B Nkosi and Eddie Zondi will make their appearance.
Jamali, the band that was formed from a popular reality television show, Coca-Cola Popstars, in 2004 will perform on Sunday at 3pm.
And the female DJ who has made a name for herself in the industry, DJ Zinhle, will do what she is known for at 7pm.
Also on the last day of the festival, television station etv viewers will have the opportunity to see their favourite television personalities from shows such as Craze, Rhythm City, Scandal and Club 808.
Hallmark event
Chance says the Soweto Festival Expo is a hallmark event that brings together tourists, local people, business, youth, community organisations, media and visitors on an annual basis to celebrate the community’s richness, diversity and heritage.
“Our vision for the Soweto Festival Expo is to contribute to the long term development of Soweto’s economy and community and, in so doing achieve international recognition for the township as an emerging city in its own right,” says Chance.
There will also be an educational demonstration of live snakes by snake handler Clive Reid. “We have a very important educational role to play in promoting the conversation of harmless snakes in our country,” says Reid. “We use vivid role-play scenarios to inform the public about species that are beneficial, such as brown snakes.”
The demonstration will be carried out in both English and Zulu. “So everyone is able to follow the story,” he says.
Good foodGood food for the discerningThe demonstrations and talks will take place between 10am and 6pm. Patrons will also have an opportunity to touch and hold snakes and “have rare photographic opportunities”.
The festival has been previously been held at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus; in this, its seventh year, the venue has been changed to the Nasrec Expos Centre.
New venue
Chance says the new venue is easily accessible via public transport, boasts plenty of parking and offers sponsors, exhibitors and visitors a world class experience.
The festival aims to bring together a diverse range of visitors from big business representatives looking to secure new service providers to building entrepreneurs searching for new markets for their products and service, he says.
The City of Joburg is one of the sponsors of the festival.
The festival will open from 10am to 9pm daily. Entry fee is R30 for adults and R10 for children under 12. Tickets are available at Computicket or at the gate.
For more information log onto the festival’s website.
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