Take a walk through Gauteng’s greatest celebration of food, drink, culture and entertainment

The Emperor will officially open the doors to the Emperors Food, Drink and Entertainment Festival on August 28 and he invites everyone to attend.

Guests can expect a variety of activities and the festival runs from August 28 to 31.

Upon entering the festival, you will find the Emperors Palate, were connoisseurs will experience the finest wine estates, scotch-makers and distillers, as well as some of the best meads, malts and fruits of the vine.

The Emperor himself has selected only the finest exhibitors such as Accolades Wines, Boschendal, Landzicht, Windhoek speciality beers and Brand House to present exquisite tasters and in depth knowledge around the finer things in life.

Patrons will receive a complimentary wine glass to sample the top palate pleasers before selecting a special bottle to take home.

To the right of Emperors Palate a rush of adrenaline awaits at the amusement park, where little ones will also be able to experience mechanical ponies and be entertained by face painters, balloon artists, stilt walkers and clowns.

Besides the rush of the exhilarating rides, a selection of carnival foods such as popcorn, candy, doughnuts and slush puppies will tempt all taste buds.

Let your nose guide you away from the amusement park with the smell of heavenly aromas from Taverns of the World, where a number of street taverns await to cater for every community and taste bud.

Mediterranean, German, Portuguese, Greek, Italian and even local shanty-town style cuisine creates an international blend bringing the world’s most exquisite flavours to the festival.

Food aficionados are sure to find favour with Taverns of the World before embarking into the world of beer.

Taverns of the World will lead guests into Brewers Lane where malt fanatics can sample, buy and enjoy the finest beer South Africa’s craft beer makers have to offer.

Brew masters will inspire craft beer lovers with in-depth beer knowledge and guests who wish to try their hand at making beer can purchase kits to take home.

Craft breweries exhibiting include Chameleon Breweries, Smack Republic Breweries and Windernere Breweries, to name but a few.

Brewers Lane opens to the great Beer House aka “Dad’s Spot” where sports fans and music lovers will be entertained for hours.

Enjoy a variety of food and drink in the biggest beerhouse in town where big bands will be entertaining visitors with music such as laid back jazz, blue grass, country, reggae and rock.

For those longing for summer, what better way to welcome warmer days than with the Really Good Weekends beach.

The whopping 80m stretch of sandy beach scattered with picnic cushions and island bars will provide the perfect day time family retreat.

As the sun sets, Really Good Weekends beach will be transformed by fairy lights into a laid-back island vibe, perfect for sipping cocktails from coconuts and romantic dances alongside the big fire pits.

Emperors Palace’s fourth Really Good Weekends will also take place on the sandy shores on August 31, where guests can enjoy prawn braais and ice-cream eating competitions.

The festival will be open on Thursday and Friday from 4pm to 10.30pm, Saturday from 11am to 10.30pm and on Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

Parking will be available next to the five-star D’oreale Grande Hotel and across the resort.

• Win tickets:

Two lucky readers can win a set of four tickets each to attend the Emperors Food, Drink and Entertainment Festival.

SMS the keyword — Festival , together with your full name (ie first name and surname), a contact number and the suburb of Germiston in which you live to 35592, at a cost of R1.50 per SMS.

The competition runs from August 13 until noon on August 19.

Winners will be selected randomly and contacted telephonically.

All entrants must be residents of Germiston.