Traditional welcome

The beating of drums... women dancing... a praise singer singing... all part of a traditional welcome to Africa and something that tourists just love to see. In fact, tourists just can't walk past them without taking pictures or even joining in and bobbing to the rhythm. A rhythm which is very addictive by the way. … Continue reading Traditional welcome →

Kids Expo drumming

Over the weekend the annual Kids and Baby Expo took place at the Moffet-on-Main Lifestyle Centre here in Port Elizabeth. The expo's exhibitors covered just about everything that you would need for babies and toddlers as well as a lot of activities to keep the kiddies busy while at the expo. I manned a tourism … Continue reading Kids Expo drumming →

Babalela at the Boardwalk

The Boardwalk is quite good with organising kids entertainment during the school holidays. On Saturday afternoon we took the Rugrats to see the Babalela show. Babalela is a character from a series of Afrikaans children's books and the show covered the stories from all three of the books that has been published so far. Babalela is … Continue reading Babalela at the Boardwalk →

Marimba band

International visitors really enjoy seeing and experiencing traditional music and dancing when visiting the country. This marimba band was entertaining a group of tourists at a township tavern just before lunch the other day. Jeya's Jazz Corner is one of the most popular township taverns in Port Elizabeth and can be found in New Brighton township. Owner … Continue reading Marimba band →

Fun Fair

One of the main attractions on the beachfront during the summer season this year is Pleasure Land. Pleasure Land was an institution on the Port Elizabeth beachfront up until a couple of years ago when the stopped coming for some reason. Their place was taken by smaller operators, but it was never the same. This … Continue reading Fun Fair →

Around the fire

The summer holidays and Christmas season is upon us and this is the time of the year when friends and colleagues get together to spend some quality (and quantity) time together. One of the best ways to do this is around a fire with a couple of drinks followed by some seriously good food. Bliss!

Centrestage

Over the weekend we went to see the very talented and awesome Centrestage band doing their Afrikaans show called "Rock Befonk". The Centrestage entertainment company has been in existence for 14 years doing mostly rock related shows, but this was the first time they tried their hand at an Afrikaans production. And I have to say: "It was good". … Continue reading Centrestage →

Traditional dancers

Quite a number of the private game reserves around Port Elizabeth have traditional dancers as part of the entertainment for their guests. Most of the youngsters in the groups dancing on the reserves either live on the surrounding farms or in one of the small towns close by. Although South Africans are used to traditional … Continue reading Traditional dancers →

How low can you go?

I was watching these guys perform at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town the other day... ... and this guy actually went under a burning rod balanced on dumpy (500ml) Coca-Cola bottles

Mannville open air theatre

In 1971 the Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival requested that a open air theatre be developed in St Georges Park and this request was approved by the city's Parks and Recreation Committee. The driving force behind this was Bruce and Helen Mann, doyens of the theatre in PE. The theatre comprises a stage and grassed area … Continue reading Mannville open air theatre →