As part of the #Welcome to Joburg – A City Reimagined campaign, Joburg Tourism is thrilled to be supporting Soweto's annual Makhelwane Festival, taking place at Lebo'sSoweto Backpackers from 18 – 20 December 2020.
This year's festival at Lebo's promises to be a lively place to relax and listen to the sounds of the best local and international jazz performances. The market will provide an opportunity for sector SMMEs to showcase a diverse lifestyle experience in the arts, craft, clothes, food and drink stalls. There will be a tourism information desk in the market to enhance visitor experience and to connect them with the destination.
“For the past five years, the Makhelwane Festival has evolved and has been defining culture in live music, film, fashion, art and crafts, including a variety of food stalls produced by locals," says Lumka Dlomo, Destination Marketing Manager, Joburg Tourism. “It is a platform that strongly promotes self-awareness, self- appreciation and overall human excellence, a triumph of multiculturalism and diversity for people of all races, genders, colours, creeds and tastes."
The festival aims to attract and promote tourism into Soweto during the festive season with the #VayaSoweto campaign to experience local food, fashion, art and music – and encourage local shopping during holiday season. The Makhelwane Festival is a subsidiary initiative for township products, with the aim of developing and driving township tourism, to further create sustainable platforms for young, creative entrepreneurs across Joburg. The festival looks beyond domestic tourism with the idea of encouraging people outside of Gauteng and South Africa, to explore Joburg - and especially Soweto.
Background
The Makhelwane Festival started in 2014 as an annual event in Soweto under the broad remit of providing a place for small businesses, black culture and tourism to thrive. It is a community based township festival where home owners open up their homes to allow aspiring business owners to showcase their products using their yards.
The Makhelwane Festival emanates from the historic moments of sharing and spending time together as families during the festive season. Back in the days A'boMakhelwane (neighbours) used to visit each other in the spirit of giving and receiving treats, ranging from cookies, ginger beer and meat to celebrate the festive season. The experience was called “iHappy", and with introduction of Makhelwane Festival, the focus extended to creating a thriving business environment where people travelled from everywhere to celebrate the spirit of togetherness and ubuntu. The festival features live music, film, fashion, art and craft and a variety of food stalls produced by locals.
To watch the Welcome to Joburg - A City Reimagined campaign, click on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/VisitJoburg/videos/299209221138418
EDITORIAL NOTE:
ABOUT JOBURG'S ACCOLADES:
- Johannesburg, Egoli, Jozi or Joburg - Africa's Most Visited City since 2013 [according to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index released in December 2018] - is a vibrant, diverse, global, all year round destination for business, leisure and lifestyle, sports, the arts, fashion and design. And so the list goes on.
- Our extraordinary city boasts plenty of accolades as a destination, including making it onto TripAdvisor's top ten list in the Travelers' Choice Awards for Best Destinations in Africa [May 2018].
Ends
Released by: Laura Vercueil : PR & Communication Manager
Joburg Tourism
Department of Economic Development
City of Johannesburg
Tel: +27 11 779 0200
Email: laurav@joburgtourism.com
