MBOMBELA – More than 800 carnival participants from different music, dance and cultural groups will leave tomorrow from the West Pack Lifestyle centre in Sitrus Crescent at 10:00 and follow a three-kilometre route ending at Lowveld High School. The aim of the parade is to showcase the vibrancy and diversity of Mpumalanga and its people.
Members of the public are encouraged to spectate along the parade route, which will pass through Piet Retief and Nel streets before meeting up with Madiba Drive on the way to Lowveld High. A Working On Fire truck will lead the parade followed by the Innibos and Lowvelder floats which will provide the sound and music for the event.
Also read: Want to join the Innibos parade? Here’s how!
“We are incredibly excited as this the first year of the Culture Carnival Parade at Innibos and we hope to see it grow into an annual affair,” she said.
“The Innibos float represents Mpumalanga and some of the fresh produce of the region, hence the logo and wording; place of the rising sun. We have sourced oranges, macadamia nuts and avocados for the display. It’s a celebration of the area and its people,” Le Roux said.
She added that the groups participating in the parade will be able to take some of the produce home with them.
Adri Goosen came up with the idea for the Lowvelder bus, which is based on the red, branded buses in London, England. She has offered her services to get the Lowvelder float ready for the parade.
Linda Pieters, marketing manager at Lowveld Media, compared the Lowvelder newspaper to a vehicle which transports information from one place to the next.
“London has its red buses, New York has its yellow taxis. These vehicles are iconic to these places just as Lowvelder performs an important function in this community. And we’re making it a double-decker bus which means there is double the important information,” Pieters said.
If you are interested in watching the parade, check out the route below: