According to the festival’s organiser, Matodzi Makananisa, the Northern Cape Heritage Festival will stretch from 17 – 24 September 2022.

“It’s a week full of activities. It’s about all the heritages in the province. We also have a street carnival, just taking it to the streets to say we are proud of who we are and also to encourage people to be proud of who they are and celebrate in song and dance,” Makananisa adds.

Makananisa explains the Northern Cape Heritage Festival is aimed at educating young people to know more and take pride in their heritage.

As a display of diverse cultural appreciation, the event will also touch on South Africa’s history by having a Kofifi dance performance as a way of catering to the older audience.

The Kofifi dance performance is reminiscent of the 40’s, where dancers would dance in a swing type music in shebeens and bars during the apartheid era.

Amongst other activities, there will be a Miss Heritage pageant, which is said to lean more towards heritage rather than just focusing on beauty.

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The festival will also include comedy, musical performances, a street carnival, ‘gospel explosion’ and a hip-hop extravaganza the night before the main event, geared towards giving local artists a platform for exposure.

“I’d like to call it a festival within a festival,” Makananisa concluded.

Meanwhile, the South African Government says intangible cultural heritage is commemorated through various events held throughout the country and it is important to preserve the variety of aspects of heritage to accelerate its application to solving community challenges. Government also regarded heritage as a crucial source of identity and continuity throughout all communities.

OFM News/Bambatha Giko