Mapungubwe Arts Festival promises to be bigger and better
The festival will take place at the Peter Mokaba Stadium from 12 to 15 December and apart from entertainment, the festival aims to introduce aspirant artists to the world of music.
LIMPOPO – Department of Arts and Culture has promised that this year’s Mapungubwe Festival will be bigger and better than ever before.
Arts and Culture MEC, Thandi Moraka, launched the festival at Mapungubwe World Heritage Site last Monday.
The festival will take place at the Peter Mokaba Stadium from 12 to 15 December and apart from entertainment, the festival aims to introduce aspirant artists to the world of music.
Cultural heritage is celebrated through exhibitions, plays and dramas and includes a Gospel and jazz festival.
“We promote Mapungubwe as a renowned world heritage site in our province because of the rich history in this area,” said Moraka. She encouraged South Africans to attend the Mapungubwe Arts Festival and to come and experience the beauty of Limpopo.
“Events such as this festival positively contributes towards improving the economic growth of the region through tourism and job creation.”
According to her, the festival started as an event to attract people from all cultures to come together to celebrate arts, culture, heritage and traditions.
According to the department, the main aim is to foster social cohesion and nation building as well as showcase the best of South African and Limpopo artists.
This year’s festival is set to begin with numerous activities such as a marathon, golf challenge, cultural pageant, a biker’s rally, cultural carnival as well as a comedy night.
According to Moraka, the 2019 festival, “will turn a new leaf as we plan to improve the brand Mapungubwe Festival to be known internationally.”
She added that Limpopo is unique, compared to the other provinces in the country, due to the various cultures found here.
“We are known to be peaceful with warm and welcoming citizens.
We call upon our people to open their arms to receive droves of people and revellers coming to attend the festival.”
She added that there will be an open festival for up-and-coming local artists.
“Our aim is not to make a profit from the festival, but to market our province and show our talent. The money we collect will help to reduce some of our expenditure.” She said that local artists from Limpopo will make up 80% of the line-up of both the Gospel and jazz festivals and she encouraged the public to attend the event.
Tickets are R150 and available at Computicket.
