Bored? There are still lots to do, places to go and movies to watch

• 3rd Annual Charity Golf Day in Roodepoort
Enjoy a day on the golf course on Thursday, July 28 with friends, family and business partners followed by a dinner, prize-giving and live entertainment with Pieter Smith, Althus Theart and Sanni’Q. This is not your ordinary golf day! Proceeds are in aid of two local charity organisations namely The Dempsey Foundation, and Friends Of Rescued Animals (FORA). Fantastic prizes and lucky draws to the value of over R25 000 will also be up for grabs, including closest to the pin and the longest drive. Venue is the Eagle Canyon Country Club. Format of the day is Fourball Alliance. Contact Wesley Parsons on 081 767 6390 or via email at wesley@spakrug.co.za or Johnny van Eden on 083 346 6050 or via email at johnny@pro2call.co.za / johnny@homeandlifestyle-online.co.za.

• Cedar Tree Craft Market in Krugersdorp
Get the family and head over to the Cedar Tree Craft Market for their fun-filled Sunday markets on July 10 and 31. Apart from live entertainment, you can expect an array of excellent stalls selling high-quality products, crafts, mouth-watering foods and something to sip on. Time is 10:00 to 15:00 at the Khosa Sports Club at the corner of Shannon Road and Frederick Cooper Drive, Krugersdorp. Pets welcome. Contact Chanelle on 081 500 6884 for more information.

• Le Nozze di Figaro opera in Roodepoort
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro shaped the future of opera buffa and is in many ways the perfect opera. Continuing the story from II Barbiere di Siviglia, this masterpiece offers a good dollop of farce, adultery, role-playing and cunning scheming. It also touches on mental-health issues, seen in the Countess’s poignant navigation of her fracturing marriage. Time is 15:00 at Roodepoort Theatre on July 10. Visit webtickets.co.za.

• Decorating exhibit in Sandton
Whether you are in the market for an updated look to your home, or just like gathering décor inspo, Decorex is the place to be. With more than 700 exhibitors you can feast your eyes on the latest décor and design trends, amazing room settings, eco interior, cutting-edge kitchens and bathrooms, and attend-free workshops. Head to the Sandton Convention Centre on July 28, 29, 30 and 31. Visit itickets.co.za.

• Save lives, help a furry friend and donate something at Hillfox
What are you doing foe Mandela Day? Nothing? Great … Come join us at the Hillfox Value Centre from 10:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, July 16 and donate blood, register to be an organ or tissue donor, or drop off donations for furry friends at the SPCA, and even donate blankets for the homeless. Donations for baby items will be collected on the day by Ladies Circle Northridge 7 and Round Table Florida 21. All items will be distributed to Just In Time Baby Sanctuary and Devine Mercy Home.

• Sionspoort se Vleisfees is einde Julie terug!
Die Sionspoort Hervormde Gemeente is kliphard besig met die laaste reëlings rondom hul baie gewilde Vleisfees. Die publiek kan uitsien na goeie kunstenaars wat heeldag op die verhoog saam met seremoniemeester Tanya V gaan optree. Die lang lys kunstenaars sluit in Fatman; Germandt Geldenhuys; Valeska; Heidi; Johan Baard; Reinhardt Venter; AJ Vos; en Die Ventertjies. Tradisionele musiek deur die Dagbreek Boereorkes, tesame met smulgoed soos skilpadjies en kaiings, skaapstertjies, pannekoek en natuurlik Sionspoort-vetkoek en -feeswors sal besoekers terugneem op ‘n nostalgiese reis. Toegang is slegs R20 per persoon en ons sien uit om die ou vriende weer gul te ontvang. Daar sal voldoende parkering beskikbaar wees. Die fees is by die Tuinhekkie van 08:00 tot laat op Saterdag 30 Julie.

• Rugbyklub nooi almal om te help stadion skoonmaak
Kom maak hierdie naweek saam met die Randfontein Rugbyklub ‘n verskil in die dorp. Klubbestuurder Lulu Kleyn het vertel dat die Randfontein Rugbyklub al hul spelers en mede-Randfonteiners uitnooi om te kom help om die Greenhills Stadion en omgewing skoon te maak. Die skoonmaaksessie vind op Saterdag 9 Julie om 08:00 plaas. Daar word gevra dat mense randsnyers, swartsakke, harke en enige ander skoonmaak-/ tuingereedskap saambring. Vir verdere inligting kontak Lulu by 071 678 0745.

• Appreciating the warmth of ‘north-facing’
When you move to Joburg from places where the minimum temperature hardly ever goes below double digits in winter, long-time residents will tell you: ‘buy a house that’s north-facing’. Listen to them. If you don’t, you’ll end up miserable in winter (not helped by load-shedding), and you’ll find that during the day, it’s warmer outside than in your house. The first people who lived on Melville Koppies hundreds of thousands of years ago knew all about north-facing. Visit Melville Koppies and you’ll see signs of where the hunter gatherers and the first farmers lived. All the old settlements were on the north-facing slopes, nestled into the side of the ridge, protected from the bitterly cold southerly breeze and guaranteed to get all the warming winter sun.

The hunter gatherers left only their sharpened stone tools as evidence: scrapers that they used as knives, or bigger stone axes. Remains of the low stone walls built by the first farmers to delineate their homesteads are still visible as is just one of the many furnaces that they used to smelt iron-bearing rock to fashion steel knives, spears and hoes. Come and visit Melville Koppies on a Sunday. Come dressed to kill winter and after exploring, you’ll end up dressed like you’re basking in summer. Book a guided tour (phone 079 532 0083) or be there by 08:30, and you’ll have your eyes opened to the evidence of where the first Joburg inhabitants lived.

Or you can self-guide yourself on the heritage trail which points out some of this evidence. If you just want to get fit, try out the 5km hike – do it twice if you’re fast. Or take a map and just meander along the many different paths that crisscross the Koppies. Melville Koppies is open between 08:00 and 11:30am every Sunday. Adults R80, children R40; season ticket for a year per adult – R500 (not transferable).

Income used for maintenance of the Koppies; R22 000 needs to be raised per month. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Contact wendavid@mweb.co.za or call 079 532 0083 to find out more. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see or https://www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies.

• Sharing knowledge around times past
Volunteer guides on Melville Koppies welcome visitors and schools to the Koppies. With a rich history going back thousands and thousands of years and a diverse mix of grassland, forest and cliffs, it’s a chance for the guides to share their knowledge with the visitors and glean new insight from visitors into times past. Children from Future Nation school in Lyndhurst visited recently. One of the teachers told how they made cooking oil by grinding peanuts on the grindstones. And when they wanted a sweet and savoury snack, they’d grind braaied mealies with sugar. Other visitors from countries just north of us often share how so many of the trees and shrubs are the same as those growing in their home countries, as too are the medicinal ones and their uses. Guided tours are proving to be very popular.

Come and share your knowledge with us. Book a tour on a Sunday morning (book on 079 532 0083) or be there by 08:30. Or you can guide yourself on the heritage trail or test your fitness on the 5km self-guided trail. Or take a map and just meander along the many different paths that crisscross the Koppies. Melville Koppies is open between 08:00 and 11:30 every Sunday. Adults R80, children R40; season ticket for a year per adult – R500 (not transferable). Income used for maintenance of the Koppies; R22 000 needs to be raised per month. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Contact wendavid@mweb.co.za or call 079 532 0083 to find out more. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see, or visit https://www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies.

• Monster Jam® Races back to SA!
This. Is. Monster Jam®! The most action-packed motor sports experience for families in the world returns to South Africa in 2023 for an adrenaline-charged three-city tour starting in Cape Town at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, April 22 followed by FNB Stadium Johannesburg on Saturday, April 29 and ending at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, May 6 for one exciting event only at 18:00 in each city.

In addition, Monster Jam® also features breath-taking Freestyle Motocross (FMX) exhibitions. This is unbeatable revved-up fun for the entire family. Monster Jam, produced by American-based Feld Entertainment and brought to you by McDonald’s South Africa together with leading local promoter, Showtime Management, in association with SuperSport, features world-class athletes locked in intense competitions of speed and skill. Exclusive advance tickets are available for purchase starting June 28 until July 4 via the McDonald’s SA app. General public tickets go on sale on Tuesday, July 5 at www.showtime.co.za OR www.ticketmaster.co.za.

Monster Jam drivers are highly trained, world-class male and female athletes who have mastered not only the physical strength and mental stamina needed to compete, but the vital dexterity to control 4,5 ton machines capable of doing backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and racing at speeds up to 110km/h to produce jaw-dropping, live motor-sports action seen around the world. South African fans will witness heated rivalries, high-flying stunts and fierce head-to-head battles for the Event Championship. Engineered to perfection, Monster Jam trucks push all limits in Freestyle, Skills and Racing competitions. Plus, fans can become part of the action by voting for the winner in the Skills and Freestyle competitions via real-time, in-stadium fan voting on their smartphones.

There are significant risks in buying from other sources, and entry to a Monster Jam event is not guaranteed. For more information on Monster Jam log onto MonsterJam.com, follow Monster Jam on their social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok #MonsterJamSA. Subscribe to the Monster Jam YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/MonsterJam.

• FREE Fertility Show Africa makes a welcome return
If you are trying to conceive or on a journey to parenthood, you really cannot afford to miss Fertility Show Africa (FSA) 2022 which this year is free for all attendees – both online and at the live, in-person event happening at the Focus Rooms in Modderfontein, Sandton, Johannesburg on July 23 and 24. Fittingly, the show takes place during National Fertility Awareness Week (July 18–24). Mindful that many of those suffering from infertility prefer some privacy and confidentiality, FSA 2022 will again host an online event that will run alongside the physical show.

This will not only provide a platform for those wanting to keep their attendance more private, but it will also allow visitors from other parts of South Africa, the African continent and the rest of the world to participate. If you are actively seeking answers, solutions and treatments and are in need of expert advice, support and encouragement, FSA 2022 offers attendees the opportunity to consult confidentially with a wide range of clinicians and experts as well as engage, ask questions, find answers and gather information from some of the industry’s best specialists, embryologists, nurses and psychologists as well as leading professionals in fertility who have struggled with their own fertility issues.

Show participants will include doctors, practitioners, fertility clinics, legal advisors, support groups, surrogacy, adoption and donor agencies, natural fertility solutions and supplements, complementary and alternative therapies, and nutritional and lifestyle advisors. FSA 2022 highlights will include the popular Expert Talks programme, the Support Zone and the Q&A sessions as well as an in-person Expo area showcasing the latest fertility and journey-to-parenthood products and solutions. Visit www.fertilityshowafrica.com for more. Fertility Show Africa 2022 is FREE to attend. Get your complimentary ticket via Quicket at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/175409-fertility-show-africa-2022#/.

• Friends of Kloofendal (FroK) events this July
Why not spend the winter with Friends of Kloofendal (FroK)? FroK is a non-profit organisation founded in August 2002. The organisation supports Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo by initiating and driving environment and community projects and activities within Kloofendal Nature Reserve. FroK consists of dedicated guides and volunteers who use their wide variety of knowledge and time to promote education, conservation and community-based projects.

July events:

• Spider and Scorpion Identification Course on Saturday, July 9 from 09:00 to noon

• Morning Creepy Crawly Walk on Sunday, July 10 from 09:00 to 11:00

• Biomimicry Walk on Sunday, July 10 from noon to 14:00

• Weekend Birding on Saturday, July 16 from 09:00 to 11:00

• iNaturalist Bio Bash on Sunday July, 17 from 09:00 to 11:00

• Goudmyn Toer on Sunday July, 17 from 14:00 to 16:00

• Morning Creepy Crawly Walk on Saturday, July 24 from 09:00 to 11:00

More details and a link to online bookings at www.KloofendalFriends.org.za/events or phone/ WhatsApp 079 693 5608 for more information. All events start from the Kloofendal Ecological Centre at Kloofendal Nature Reserve.

• The SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge
Difficulty calls us to rise, and in that rising, we learn what we are capable of. The theme of the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022 is built on the concept of rising despite difficulty, like a phoenix from the ashes, which the Virtual Challenge itself has done amidst a global pandemic. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity, and there is a plethora of opportunity for creativity amidst the current challenges that we face.

This year we anticipate rising again as the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022, in celebration of a South African stalwart, accompanied by a powerful digital strategy and virtual challenge, to become the most inclusive challenge South Africa has seen. Over the years, the challenge has brought women from all walks of life together to make a difference in our communities and once again, this year will be no different, as we rise to the challenge as a nation, leaving no woman (or man) behind.

While the challenge is still fully focused on women, they encourage women to bring their families, friends and animals, and welcome everyone, irrespective of gender, for this inclusive challenge. Join on Saturday, September 3, 2022 anytime between 06:00 and 18:00. You can run, jog, or walk your own virtual challenge, at your own pace, from any location you choose. To enter visit https://sparvirtualchallenge.co.za/.

• Under the Baobab Tree Show in Parktown
How does an entertaining (and educational) show at the National Children’s Theatre sound? We think pretty amazing and we’re booked! Under the Baobab Tree is a production that delivers a charming selection of traditional stories, vibrant songs, pulsating rhythms, African drums and lively dance to educate and entertain all primary school learners (ages four and up). This National Children’s Theatre production is a sprightly follow-on from NCT’s ground-breaking and Naledi award-winning production of Khokho’s Treasure. The show explodes onto the stage from June 19 to July 24. For further information contact Cindy on 011 484 1584, or visit Facebook: @NCTheatreSA or Instagram: @nctheatresa.

• Women’s Day celebration at Pretoria Zoo
Be strong, be confident and be you! Celebrate womanhood with food, music, fun and drinks to reflect on and empower women everywhere during a Women’s Day celebration at Pretoria Zoo on August 7. The theme is an all-white affair with a touch of yellow #DoeknShadesAllWhiteAffair. Visit their Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/events/3283831105276088/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22discovery_top_tab%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D] for more information.

• Wear pink for trademark Women’s Day sporting event
The Totalsports Women’s Race will take place across three cities including Johannesburg on National Women’s Day. Each entrant will receive an official event T-shirt that was produced locally. The Totalsports Women’s Race proudly supports PinkDrive, a non-profit company (NPC) that is committed to improving breast cancer awareness, education, and providing and offering free services to the medically uninsured across South Africa. Online entries opened on Tuesday May 17 and will close on Tuesday July 26. Enter via www.totalsportswomensrace.co.za.

• West Rand Carnival
Get into the carnival spirit and experience among other live entertainment, music, a food court and market at the 2022 West Rand Carnival to be held over four days from September 8 to 11 in Ruimsig, Roodepoort.

• Discovery Community Forum annual general meeting (AGM)
Discovery residents are kindly invited to attend the Discovery Community Forum’s (DCF) annual general meeting. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 6 at 18:50 for 19:00 at Rainbow Radio Station, situated on Sauer Street in Florida. For more information, contact the DCF secretary, Sue Blair on 072 441 2230.

Weekly

• The Witpoortjie community market is back!

The Witpoortjie Community Flea/ Farmer’s Market takes place at The Flower Foundation, 36 Reyger Street, Witpoortjie every Saturday from 08:00 to 13:00. A variety of stalls, including food, fresh produce, toys, clothing, jewellery, home and outdoor and more, will help you to help empower small businesses. For more information, contact Roxanne on 084 207 6549.

• Getting the elderly fit every Wednesday

Is your grandpa or grandma living in the Klein Helderkruin retirement village? Super Boxing Fitness is introducing Super Senior fitness classes (60+) exclusive to Klein Helderkruin retirement village residents every Wednesday at 10:00. There is one 30-minute class per week which focuses on mobility, flexibility and balance in a safe and supportive environment. Please come join them in keeping their elderly healthy and active. Contact Raz on 084 990 8357 for more information.

• Get fit with Zee’s Aerobics classes

Join Zee every Saturday morning from 07:30 to 08:30 at the Vredenhoek Street Park, Mondays from 17:00 to 18:00 at the Lichtenstein Street Park, Wednesdays from 17:00 to 18:00 in the open field next to the Witpoortjie Bowling Club, corner of Koeberg Street and Teenstra Avenue or Thursdays from 17:00 to 18:00 at the Kasteel Street and Java Street Park for a fun aerobics class. The classes are free and all you need is yourself, a water bottle, a towel and your mask.

Movies not to miss!

• ELVIS – From June 24
The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).

• MEN – From July 1
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. However, someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread soon becomes a fully formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.

• DC LEAGUE OF SUPER PETS – From July 29
In “DC League of Super-Pets,” Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack – Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle and Chip the squirrel – to master their own new-found powers and help him rescue the superheroes.

• EASTER SUNDAY – From August 19
Stand-up comedy sensation Jo Koy (Jo Koy: In His Elements, Jo Koy: Comin’ in Hot) stars as a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, a loving family, in this love letter to his Filipino-American community. Easter Sunday features an all-star comedic cast that includes Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley series), Tia Carrere (True Lies, Wayne’s World films), Brandon Wardell (Curb Your Enthusiasm series), Tony nominee Eva Noblezada (Broadway’s Hadestown), Lydia Gaston (Broadway’s The King and I), Asif Ali (WandaVision), Rodney To (Parks and Recreation series), Eugene Cordero (The Good Place series), Jay Chandrasekhar (I Love You, Man), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Courage Under Fire).

• Source: Empire Entertainment