It’s bigger and better and back with a bang — the 2008 Soweto Festival, brought to you by Adele Lucas Promotions (ALP) and hosted by the City of Johannesburg.
Taking place for the first time at the University of Johannesburg Soweto campus on Old Potch Road, the Soweto Festival runs from September 24 to 28. The festival incorporates the Heritage Day public holiday and is the biggest annual event to take place in Soweto.
“Over the years the Soweto Festival has seen major growth, and having added more elements and modified others is certainly a reflection of growth and bigger and better things to come,” says Adele Lucas, managing director of ALP.
“This year we bring to Soweto the Wedding Expo, Shoprite’s Chefs Arena, Standard Bank’s Youth Zone and the SMME project, the storytelling boma, fashion shows, a leisure and lifestyle exhibition, a full music and entertainment programme and much, much more,” Lucas adds.
Last year the Soweto Festival attracted more than 40 000 visitors and was hugely successful, with a total of more than 250 exhibitors promoting brands and gaining direct exposure in the trendy Soweto market.
ALP together with the City of Jo’burg, main sponsor of the event, and other sponsors plan on delivering a magnificent show, which draws on the vibrant mix of talents that Soweto and South Africa have to offer. The Soweto Festival’s objective is to promote economic and community development and to showcase the heritage and culture of Soweto through style, glamour, exclusivity and character.
Arts:
David Krut Arts Resource (DK Arts) is committed to promoting the awareness of contemporary South African art and encouraging professional skills in writing, the creation of art and arts administration. The Taxi Art Education Programme (TAEP) is an outreach programme that brings these ideals to children who have limited access to art education.
The enrichment of individual lives is by far the most important achievement of TAEP. The students who have participated in the art classes have shown improved self-esteem and creative confidence. Art has facilitated in self-expression and the cementing of personal identity. It has given individuals a sense of belonging and purpose and the ability to reach out to their communities. It has also provided vocational guidance and the possibility of a viable and sustainable art career.
TAEP now has 10 facilitators who teach art, music, poetry, dance and storytelling. This groundbreaking programme is driven by the enthusiasm of the TAEP facilitators and their growing group of students and assistants.
Business and tourism:
ALP will take part in the first annual University of Johannesburg Small Business Conference which is hosted by the University of Johannesburg, Soweto Campus, from September 22 to 23.
The theme of the conference: “Black townships as a tourist destination for visitors in 2010 and beyond” aims at developing a strategy that will see townships benefit as a viable tourist destination from the 2010 World Cup and beyond. Secondly it will look at how to make the township package sellable to tourists and get repeat business or word-of-mouth endorsement. The conference features key experts as keynote speakers and facilitators of conference discussion sessions.
The conference is aimed at the Jo’burg Tourism Company, South African Tourism, Tourism Business Council of SA, BEE Charter Council for the Tourism Industry, the World Cup LOC, Soweto businesses, players in the tourism industry, players from other South African townships and so on.