31 Dec New Year’s in Joburg – keep it Urban!
The Joburg Carnival is warming up – come on people get out there and celebrate your city! It’s a day time parade ending at 6 – just in time for you to keep on moving on to the next party.
They now have a website for more info – click here to check it out.
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1 Dec
For those of you looking for something f…
abulous and Urban for New Years – join the Joburg Carnival! It’s multi-cultural and multi-faceted- sounds fantastic! It’s in the name of a clean grime-free and safe city – we love that!
The second Joburg Carnival will see thousands of people congregate in the Newtown cultural precinct to celebrate the City’s planned year end festivities. People from community-based troupes and cultures will be part of the creative display of costumes, floats, singing and dancing.
The theme of the 2005 carnival is ‘Nyakaza – Joburg on the move’. This design allows for a broad creative interpretation, which will be showcased in the carnival activities, as well as the procession of the carnival through the City.
Hosted by City of Johannesburg Arts, Culture and Heritage Services (ACHS) and The Carnival Consortium, the carnival will feature the City of Joburg business entities like City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup. The South African Police Services (SAPS) will play the role of lead collaborative partner.
The 11 metropolitan regions of the City will also participate in the design and production of the 2005 Carnival, each competing with its own sub-theme and identity, represented by costumes, flags, floats, dances and songs. The carnival procession will also be made up of other cultural groups residing in the city, such as Zimbabweans, Zambians, Ethiopians and Chinese, with colourful representations of their countries’ traditional attire.
The carnival aims to promote the transformation of Hillbrow, Joubert Park, Newtown and the Joburg Inner City into a crime and grime-free zone, where free and safe movement is encouraged, to boost existing urban renewal programmes.
Joburg Carnival 2005 will also provide the inner city communities with opportunities to participate in New Year’s Eve activities, thereby discouraging crime and vandalism. “Carnivals are unique cultural events, which have been used all over the world to diffuse ethnic tensions and strengthen relations in the community,” says director of ACHS, Steven Sack.
The carnival will highlight crime-combating activities of SAPS, in areas that require intense policing, thereby creating constructive dialogue between the police and the citizens that the police serve. Hillbrow, Joubert Park, Newtown, Joburg Inner City – and the 11 regions – are key tourist destinations for local and overseas guests.
Marshals trained in crowd control, first aid and emergency skills will accompany the procession, to ensure that proper order is maintained and the carnival remains a safe, fun, family event. “A big message this year is safety,” says Sack, “this is why the procession ends in Newtown, which is known as a safe destination.”
Carnival training skills will also take place in all eleven regions, encouraging future participation in such cultural events. “40 youth from the communities within each region will be trained as ‘troupes’ for the procession,” says Collen Hlatshwayo from The Carnival Consortium. “They will be educated in costume creation and choreography, and they will also learn how to make ‘giant’ costumes, which will lead each troupe.”
Starting at 2pm, the procession will wind its way from Kotze Street, opposite Constitution Hill, through Hillbrow, to the Mandela Bridge, where photographers will capture the colorful event. “We are drawing people out of Berea, Hillbrow and the Inner City to Newtown, the hub of arts and culture,” explains Notuku, “the carnival celebrates our heritage, living history and freedom of expression.” The procession ends at Newtown Park, where the floats will line up on Miriam Makeba and Jeppe Streets for the public to view at their leisure.
Regional carnival troupes will take the stage in a carnival showcase that will entertain the public during the early evening of New Years Eve 2005 festivities. The City of Joburg has plans in the pipeline to host a massive firework display and party on Mary Fitzgerald Square, later the same evening.
Sack’s message to all Joburg residents is: “Reschedule your holiday plans! Make sure you are in Joburg over New Year – this is going to be the best party on the continent!”
OVERVIEW OF THE JOBURG CARNIVAL 2005
Nyakaza – Joburg on the move
To be held on: 31st December 2005
Starting Point: Kotze Street/Constitution Hill
Starting Time: 2pm
Route: Constitution Hill via Hillbrow over Mandela Bridge to Newtown Park.
End Point: Newtown Park, Miriam Makeba Street,
Approx. End Time: 4pm arrival in Newtown the performance up to 6pm
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