What to get up to this Africa Day
JOBURG – Celebrate Africa Day exploring the heritage in and around your home and community.
Where to go and what to do to celebrate Africa Day this week and weekend.
Tuesday 25 May will be the one day in the year that everyone on the continent will be celebrating the arts, culture and heritage of Africa on Africa Day. Africans and those in Africa have been encouraged to continue supporting such as it holds the value of who we are as Africans. To ensure that you and your family get to make this Africa Day memorable and enjoyable, here is a list of things that you can get up to from 25 May until 31 May:
- Origins Centre
Monday to Sunday: Visitors to the Origins Centre follow a path of hominin innovation that began over two million years ago. The museum delves into the fascinating beliefs of the San and contains evidence of ancient stone tools, artefacts of symbolic and spiritual significance, and examples of the region’s visually striking rock art. It also captures the impact of the colonial front and highlights examples of resistance.
Cost: R55 per adult and R20 per child.
Details: Visit www.facebook.com/originscentre/
- Melville Koppies
Every Sunday: The Johannesburg City Heritage Site Melville Koppies is the last conserved remnant of Johannesburg’s ridges as they were before the discovery of gold in 1886 and it had some special guests over recently to witness what secrets lay in this area. Stone tools show that Early Stone Age man camped here as long as 500 000 years ago. There is a Late Stone Age living floor. Within the last 1 000 years, Iron Age immigrants arrived, and remains of their kraal walls can be found on the northern slopes. In 1963 an iron-smelting furnace was excavated and can be seen today.
Cost: R80 per adult and R40 per child.
Details: Visit www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies/
- Remembering Tuku
From 29 May: Joburg Theatre is celebrating Africa Month by paying tribute to the legendary, late Oliver Mtukudzi. The musically driven show will feature Tuku’s strongest and most well-loved compositions, paying tribute to the renowned and internationally recognised cultural icon of all time. The line-up features Selmor Mtukudzi, Vusi Mahlasela, Ami Faku, Madosini and Steve Dyer celebrating the late legend.
Cost: R120 per person and R80 for Wits University students.
Details: Visit www.joburgtheatre.com/remembering-tuku-info/
- Isandlwana Lecture: An Afrikan Triumph
From 26 May: Artist and cultural doyen Mbuso Khoza will lead The Afrikan Heritage Ensemble in reliving the story of the battle of Isandlwana, where inspired Zulu warriors out-thought the British army in this part of the world’s most famous anti-colonialist clashes, at the Soweto Theatre.
Cost: R150 per person
Details: Visit www.sowetotheatre.com/isandlwana-lecture-an-afrikan-triumph/
- Cradle of Humankind
Friday to Sunday: The Maropeng Visitor Centre is an award-winning, world-class exhibition, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years. See fossils, learn about how humankind was born, view stone tools that are up to one million years old, and much more while the Sterkfontein Caves will introduce you to ‘Mrs Ples’, the ‘Taung Child’ and ‘Little Foot’ before heading underground to explore the caves, where scientists have discovered many hominid and other animal fossils dating back more than four million years to the birth of humanity.
Cost: R100 per person for the Maropeng Visitor Centre Exhibition and R100 for a tour of the Sterkfontein Caves and the exhibition at Sterkfontein.
Details: Visit www.maropeng.co.za/content/page/maropeng-visitor-centre
