News & Events around South Africa

Added: Monday, 08 March 2010

The 7th Annual Durban International Boat and Lifestyle Show is being held much earlier this year to accommodate the FIFA World Cup agreement with host cities.
The dates for the show are Friday 30th April to Sunday 2nd May 2010.

 

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Added: Tuesday, 02 March 2010

The Annual Sasol Scifest which started in 1997 is only a few weeks away and as usual is hosted by the beautiful city of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape.

The dates are from 24th to 30th March 2010 and this year has a spectacular range of work shops, exhibitions, talk shops, lectures and some fun stuff on the fringes.

All ages from grade 1 to grade 12 and adults are catered for, so it's the ideal exhibition for all the budding scientists who prefer working out theorems and equations than working out in a gym.

The program is too long and complicated to be produced here and it requires a fair amount of paper and patience to work through what's on, so make some time and go to the Scifest website. 

For accommodation in and around Grahamstown you can consider

Kichaka Game Lodge

Courtlands 

The White House

Hotel Victoria Mews

Henri House

 

 

 

 

 

Added: Tuesday, 02 March 2010

During the weekend of the 22 - 25 April 2010 the people of Lamberts Bay take pride in celebrating their ninth consecutive Crayfish and Cultural Festival.

Crayfish is the main attraction at ridiculously low prices to make it available to all.

Lambert's Bay is the South African crayfish mecca and this delicacy is prepared in true West Coast style. Crayfish will be available at various points including Muisbosskerm

Other food stalls will also be available for the fastidious pallet. 

Activities include paint ball, quad biking and bow & arrow shooting. Entertainment such as face painting, jumping castle etc. will be available for the younger festival goers and their are a number of flea market stalls.

Music plays a very important part of this festival and we have some of the country's best artists performing at our festival in this little village.

As usual on the Sunday Morning they townsfolk will hold their inter denominational Church Thanksgiving Service.

For any further information on the festival or accommodation enquiries, please contact Lamberts Bay Tourism Office at:
Tel : 027-432 1000 Fax : 027-432 2235

Thursday 22 April 2010 Entrance Fee : Adults R40.00 Kids 3 to 11 R20.00, Under 3 - Free

Program to be announced

Friday 23 April 2010 Entrance Fee : Adults R100.00 Kids 3 to 11 R50.00, Under 3 - Free

Program

13:00 | Kreefidols
14:00 | Paola
15:10 | Marsmoeras and Sean met die Bril
16:20 | Gerrie Pretorius
18:00 | Anton Botha
19:40 | TBA
20:50 | Nicholis Louw
22:00 | DJ Ossewa
23:40 | Marsmoeras and Sean met die Bril

Saturday 24 April 2010Entrance Fee : Adults R140.00 Kids 3 to 11 R50.00, Under 3 - Free

Program

10:00 | Genevieve
10:45 | Take 5 Comedy - Melt Sieberhagen,
White Warrior, Hannes Brummer
11:55 | Miss Blue Jeans Competition
13:05 | Mystic Trio
14:15 | David Fourie
15:25 | Better Off Blind
16:35 | Gerhard Steyn
17:45 | Ray Dylan
18:55 | Thys Die Bosveldklong
20:05 | PIeter Smith
21:15 | Elizma Theron
22:30 | Steve Hofmeyer
00:00 | Better Off Blind

Sunday 25 April 2010 Entrance Free

Program

09:30 |Praise and Thanksgiving service with Ds.Frik Kleynhans
Broadcast by Radio Namaqualand. Kerugma
Lofsangers.
11:00 Kreefstal, Bar and Other stalls open after the Church Service
van Kerkdiens.

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Added: Friday, 26 February 2010

When I was a young man the Rand Show was called the Rand Easter Show. There were horses and pigs and cattle and sheep on display and many national championships for various breeds were contested at the annual show.

Things are a little different now and the 2010 version of the Rand Show promises to be the best ever. Organisers expect over 250,000 visitors from around the country to spend time at the show which runs from 1st to 11th April 2010.

The exhibition centre at Nasrec is in the final stages of a massive revamp for the international media centre for World Cup Soccer 2010. So if you have been to the show before don't expect a repeat of the old ways.

Some of the highlights for 2010 include

Lippazaner Horses
1st to the 5th April
South Africa's world famous Lippazaners will be performing. They will be doing all their favourite acts including "Tribute to the Horse", "Airs above the Ground" including a solo performance of the "Levade" and the "Capriole". The show finishes with the equally famous "Quadrille" or Ballet of the White Stallions.

Tanya Visser
6th to 11th April
The Rand Show is proud to bring you Tanya Visser, presenter of The Gardener on The Home Channel and editor of The Gardener, Die Tuinier and Create. She will be bringing you daily inspiration in her talks at the Rand Show.

Stellenbosch Wine Route
7th to 11th April

The members of the Stellenbosch Wine Route will delight your taste buds with their wine at the Rand Show from Wednesday 7 April to Sunday 11 April. Come tour the winelands with us at the Rand Show and escape to the heart of the Western Cape.

The South African Chefs Association
9th to 11th April
SACA will be bringing the gastronomic genius of some of the country's greatest chefs to the Rand Show 2010, to present a gourmet Food Theatre experience for visitors.
Over the three day period there are three 90 minute shows a day, where top chefs will demonstrate their mouth-watering recipes and cooking tech-niques. Visitors to the Food Theatre will also be able to sample tasters of the prepared dishes, which is always a firm favourite with show-goers.

Global Festival
9th to 11th April
Experience the rich cultures of the world by joining the celebration of foreign dancing, exotic food and traditional clothing as you experience the rich cultures of the world at the Global Festival

There will also be dog agility trials, a Cultural Dance & Food Festival, art auctions by Stefan Weltz, Supersonic planes on display during an air show, and the boat and yacht exhibition at the waterfront zone.

There are shows focusing on the home and garden, shows showcasing science, technology and digital innovations, and shows covering healthy living. There are children's zones, outdoor and sport zones, and something for pet lovers, not to mention ample diversions for those who love food and culture. The Rand Show is not to be missed.

Added: Friday, 26 February 2010

The 3rd Annual Joburg Art Fair takes place from the 26th to the 28th of March 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Twenty three participating galleries, featuring the work of over 400 artists and 40 designers from South Africa and the greater continent will be exhibiting.

The Joburg Art Fair showcases the cream of contemporary artistic production and is a critical platform for positioning African artists as players in the international art arena.The Joburg Art Fair has established itself as a key event on the calendars' of galleries, artists, buyers, sellers, international collectors and the like, as well as anyone with an interest in contemporary art,

design and culture from the continent. As the only event of its kind in Africa, the Joburg Art Fair aims to represent not only South Africa but the African continent as a whole.

Attendance at last year's fair topped 10,000 and organisers are confident that this number will be significantly exceeded.

In addition to the galleries, 11 special projects have been created to give new and emerging artists an opportunity to showcase their works. These projects offer visitors an experience that goes beyond the purely commercial. The overarching theme for the 2010 Fair is 'Art & Industry'.

A series of projects will mirror the international move towards the beneficial collaboration of artists with industry. The Joburg Art Fair is a forum for these exchanges and dialogues to take place. The partnership of Art & Industry is a catalyst for fresh perspectives and solutions in production that are both inspired and progressive.

For more information, pricing and times visit the Joburg Artfair website.

For accommodation near the convention centre we recommend

A Country Hotel near Lanseria (Ref 1082)

A guesthouse in Craighall (Ref 5790)

A Boutique Hotel in Melrose (Ref 3157)

Added: Friday, 26 February 2010

The inaugural National Electronics Week Exhibition in South Africa takes place on the 9th and 10th March 2010. This follows several similar exhibitions in the United Kingdom.

National Electronics Week Exhibition is an all-encompassing event delivering dedicated support for every electronics sector. Business opportunities, networking platforms, seminars and conferences.

For more details on exhibitors, speakers and the full program visit the NEW 2010 website

For accommodation close to the Sandton Convention Centre we recommend

A Guesthouse in Craighall (Ref 5790)

A Hotel in Melrose (Ref 3157)

A Country Hotel near Lanseria (Ref 1082)

Added: Friday, 26 February 2010

 

Plans are well under way for the 29th Triennial Convention of the International Confederation of Midwives scheduled for 19th to 23rd June 2011. As the convention occurs only every three years 3000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend this convention at the Durban ICC which will significantly boost tourism in and around Kwa Zulu Natal.

The International Confederation of Midwives – supports, represents and works to strengthen professional associations of midwives on a global basis. At present there are 98 Member Associations located in 87 countries around the globe. The ICM strives to improve and secure women's right and access to midwifery care before, during and after childbirth. They have worked alongside UN agencies and other organisations in global initiatives to help reduce the numbers of mothers and babies who die in and around childbirth. The drive for safer motherhood continues to gain strength as more women worldwide achieve access to midwifery care.

For more detail contact the ICM or see their convention website.

 

Added: Tuesday, 16 February 2010

It seems that from recent press releases and articles appearing on the web that the World Cup Football event may not be as rewarding as expected by many businesses.

 Two issues are clearly of concern to fans and would be tourists. The one is the perennial "security" issue and the other is the increasing cost of visiting South Africa during the World Cup.

There is not much that any of us can do regarding security except hope that the South African Authorities have done their homework. The world's focus is on South Africa and the last thing we need is any form of civil unrest as seen in Balfour last week or any high profile criminal incidents. We unfortunately, are going to be mere spectators in this regard and can only hope for the best.

The second issue revolves around pricing together with the odd piece of gossip beginning to surface alleging that ticket sales are not what they should be. International and local air ticket prices have shot through the roof and many vendors are asking somewhat high prices for accommodation during the world cup.

"Match" have released over 7000 rooms that were contracted to them. One assumes that this is something that happens at every world cup and is not unique to this one.Specific hotels have been named where their pricing is up 480% from their standard rack rates. We have instances where quoted rates are 3 and 4 times mid season rates.

In a recent newsletter to our tourist and traveller database we indicated current asking prices for air tickets from Johannesburg to Cape Town where clearly, SAA are up 80% from June to July and BA up 157% for the same period.

Whether the world cup attracts enough visitors or not, is not as critical as how we face the reality of the situation closer to the time.

There are of course creative ways of tackling these challenges. If you are already fully booked you have nothing to be concerned about. If not then obviously your starting point would be to determine whether your pricing is acceptable and then to revisit your marketing plan.

One big opportunity is to target your existing database of local past clients who will be looking for places to stay in the normal course of their business or because they have a house full of kids with the long school holiday break planned for the World Cup.

A second opportunity is to relook at the vendors associated to your business with the purpose of increasing and enhancing your offering to prospective guests, either by way of price advantage or extended service.

Two articles you may wish to follow up are in the Guardian and in the Telegraph.

Added: Friday, 12 February 2010

Hobby-X is Southern Africa's undisputed leading exhibition of materials, equipment and supplies used for a wide variety of hobbies and crafts. Approximately 250 exhibitors cover categories from DIY-home décor to creative hobbies, from adventure and outdoor to fine art, fashion and scholastic materials.

Hobby -X provides a fun, interactive and rewarding experience to people of all ages, from all walks of life.

With theatres of activity where you can learn new decorating tricks; Make & Take zones to try your hand at new projects; demonstrations of exciting new techniques; irresistible goodies to buy at a variety of stands; activity areas to simply have fun in . . . Hobby-X has something for the whole family!

Just under General Hobbies & Collectibles Hobby-X lists: Archery, astronomy and telescopes, binoculars, bird watching, bonsai, brewing, car restoration,collections, cooking, baking and sugar art, electronics, engraving, flower arranging, framing, gems & minerals, genealogy (family trees), horse riding, ikebana, knife making, meccano, metal work, model building, movies, music (instruments, CD's & DVD's) numismatics (coins), philately (postage stamps), radio controlled models, reading, science & experiments, semi precious stones, woodworking.

Apart from that there are hundreds of other hobbies that they are promoting

Hobby-X takes place at the Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate in Randburg 4 - 7 March 2010 (4th March Trade Only) Thursday and Friday - 10am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday - 9am to 6pm