A wonderland of lights

An acre of festive ornaments and 22km of twinkling fairy lights is not what you would expect to find atop the massive Mall of Africa at Waterfall park, however, until 24 December a wonderland of festive lights is exactly what you will discover on the mall’s rooftop. 

The Fantasy of Light, the secret castle pantomime sees the amphitheatre transformed into a scene straight out of a fairy-tale. After marvelling at the artistically strung 160m waterfall of cascading lights, the kids (and young at heart) will be entertained by the 70-minute pantomime. There are food, sweets and non-alcoholic drinks stalls available.

The best time to get there is just after sunset, of course. Secure parking is available and tickets will be exchanged for different dates in the case of bad weather. 

Tickets can be booked through Computicket at R120 per adult entry, while kids under eighteen years of age and seniors pay R80. The park opens at 6pm.

Some of the high-lights 😊

You’re never too old to be dazzled by lights. 

Response to fee announcement

Wits Convocation Executive Committee Statement on Fee Announcement and Student Reaction

1. We understand the undesirable implications that the commodification of knowledge and rendering students as consumers have for education especially for an economy such as ours.
2. We recognise that broader socioeconomic issues impacting on the ability of some students to afford fees are valid and must be addressed.
3. We recognise the right of students to protest, but not by violating the rights of others.
4. We call on government to engage with the private sector and universities to establish a sustainable funding model.
5. We call on Universities South Africa and Vice-Chancellors to engage with all student formations and political parties to agree on acceptable modes of protest, demilitarisation of universities and in return for which there will be no private security and we can collectively and collaboratively make our universities safe places conducive for learning.
6. We unequivocally and strongly condemn any violent actions on campus, including blocking entry and disruption of the academic program and support disciplinary action against perpetrators of violence.
7. It is critical that we ensure universities continue unhindered with the academic program while the leadership of students and universities engage on a way forward on the fees issue.

Professor Kgethi Phakeng
President of Convocation
Issued on behalf of the Executive Committee of Convocation
20 September 2016

Bollywood to dazzle in Sandton

From 2-4 December the Sandton Convention Centre will be awash with Bollywood colour, taste and flavour when the annual Blu Blood Bollywood experience is hosted in Sandton for the first time.

Design, décor and fashion will be showcased at the Mela (shopping festival or gathering - for those of you who were about to google), which will feature 200 unique exhibitors, a kiddies play centre, music and entertainment each day over the 3-day event. From 9am to 9pm every day, there promises to be something for the whole family to enjoy. 

Highlights of the cultural extravaganza include:

3 December 2016 -- Catch South Africa’s Indian comedians in Kings & Queens of Comedy And All’.  The royal line-up includes Riaad Moosa, Krijay Govender, Simmi Arreff and Leeanda Reddy.

Atif Aslam

4 December 2016 – Dance the night away with Bollywood music megastars – Sonu Nigam and Atif Aslam live in concert.  Performing all their greatest hits and paying tribute to the music legends of India and Pakistan. They will be accompanied by musicians from India and Pakistan as well as an international dance troupe. 

Sonu Nigam

Tickets are available for Sonu Nigam and Atif Aslam from Computicket and Shoprite Checkers outlets. Tickets range from R250 to R5000 with room packages at Tsogo Sun’s range of hotels available. Tickets for the Blu Blood Bollywood Experience will be open to the public shortly.

For general enquiries about the event, please email info@blublood.com 

Little fighters win

Social responsibility escapes no one, it is not reserved for big corporates and more than ever before we are seeing international celebrities using their social influence to add impetus to a number of deserving causes. In South Africa local personalities with a social conscience are doing the same. 

Popular local musician Garth Taylor used his influence and fists to raise funds for the Little Fighters Cancer Trust when he competed in the White Collar Boxing charity match in June 2016 as part of the #YouPledgeIFight initiative.

Little Fighters Cancer Trust is an NPO that offers support to children diagnosed with cancer and their families, through a variety of individualised assistance, including, but not restricted to, provision of food and groceries, transport, clothing, furnishings, bedding, medication, medical equipment and 24 hour emotional support. 

Commenting on the importance of such an organisation Mandie Erasmus from LFCT said, “Parents of diagnosed children often lose or leave their jobs to be able to provide the special care and support required, which, together with the huge emotional strain of having a terminally sick child, often disables the family financially and emotionally. Little Fighters steps in to help create a support system in order for the children and their families to maintain their dignity, and with it, provide hope.”

For Garth the initiative struck a personal chord as his sister lost her battle with cancer, “Having watched what she went through as an adult fighting this disease, I can only imagine how much worse it is for children who are suffering from cancer, to fight this battle. So, I figured, how bad can it be? Me, stepping into the ring and getting punched around for kids who are fighting for their lives every single day. I might as well see what I can do, if not through my singing, then by getting into the ring and doing something more exciting, so that people and companies pledge money and hopefully we can raise enough funds to help these little kids.”

Garth faced-off in an evenly contested match and the winner was - the Little Fighters.

The match for the #YouPledgeIfight campaign may be over but fundraising initiatives continue with the aim of raising R100 000 for the organisation.

I spoke to Mandie Erasmus from LFCT and Garth Taylor on my show Jozi Today at Radio Today on 14 July. Listen to that interview here: JoziToday with Natashia

Get Involved: www.littlefighters.org.za

Education for sustainable development

Eduweek 2016 at Gallagher Convention Centre  is a free to attend, educator focused exhibition. Now in its tenth year, the event brings together educational professionals with the aim of advancing educational knowledge in Africa.

The theme for EduWeek 2016 is Sustainable Development in Education, which was chosen to reflect EduWeek’s support of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The two-day exhibition running from 29-30 June will feature five dedicated conference theatres, each of which will host two full days of free content dedicated to one of the following five themes:

Early Childhood Development

Basic Education

Higher Education

Inclusive Education

E-Tech (Educational Technology)

Nhlanhla Thwala, MD of CTI Education - comments on sustainable education and issues that exist in the sector.

Q: The theme this year is education for sustainable development, what does this mean?

Nhlanhla:  Sustainable education means providing an education that equips students with skills that they can apply practically in the workplace. Graduates must be employable and able to implement the skills they have learned at school.

Q: What issues urgently need to be addressed in the education sector?

Nhlanhla: An issue in the education sector that needs to be addressed urgently is the quality of teaching. Pearson trains thousands of teachers annually to equip them with the skills to teach effectively, also using technology to make sure they are equipped to teach in the 21st century. Teachers need to be skilled and qualified, only in that way can they equip their leaners and students.  

What to expect at the event:

• Improve your educational knowledge:  Choose from over 200 hours of leading–edge and free practical training delivered by experts from across Africa
• Be equipped for success… discover Africa’s widest choice of quality end-to-end Early Childhood Development solutions
• Meet the implementers who will inspire you through hands-on learning
• Be at the forefront of Africa’s transformation by networking with leaders, strategic thinkers and entrepreneurs

Details: Education week

Hi Hopes for 5th birthday bash

Play a part in giving the gift of hearing as Recording Studios celebrates their 5^th birthday with a charity event on the 25^th of June 2016 at the Good LuckBar in Johannesburg, in an effort to raise funds for deaf children who have never experienced the magic of music.

Recording Studios is a website that revolves around South African music and the many talented musicians who contribute to it.  It’s a space where artists, studios, producers and engineers can have a presence and let their market know more about them.  

The birthday event is in support of a charity called Hi Hopes  the community outreach arm of the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.  It provides support for families and is dedicated to helping deaf and hard-of-hearing children grow and learn in a world they cannot hear. Their focus is on early intervention and promoting the best method of communication suited to the particular child and their family.  

“You love music and we love music and that’s why we want to team up and have a gig with a difference.  We’re going to use our birthday event to raise money to fund cochlear implants and to buy hearing aids, giving children the gift of hearing.  A cochlear implant costs R320 000,” says Colette Carr of Recording Studios.

Performances by Shortstraw, Naming James, David Beretta Owens (of Lithium), Hellcats and PitVirus.

Recording Studios have started the #HearYeeChallenge to get people to donate to the Crowd Funding Campaign  

Ticket details: RecordingStudios.co.za

(Content-PR release)

Forever a Jackson fan

Why you should see the Forever Jackson tribute show

From the infamous crotch grab introduced in Bad to the gravity defying lean in Smooth criminal to the slick glide of the moonwalk in Billie Jean; Robin Parsons in FOREVER JACKSON delivers a studied and perfected replication of all the iconic Michael Jackson moves.

Robin Parsons on stage at Joburg Theatre

Jackson impersonators around the world make it their life goal to keep the legend's legacy alive through tribute shows and this dedication to perfection, which requires a tremendous amount of time and hard work, is the reason I refuse to be hypercritical of their efforts. However, many of these shows fall short and are often lacking some element of detail, which keep them from being the ultimate tribute to the King of Pop; this is not the case with FOREVER JACKSON - meticulous attention to detail is what sets it apart from other tribute shows. 

What is impressive of Parsons’ performance is not only has he got the moves, but the voice to go with it too and at times during the show you may question whether it’s Parsons or the real MJ on vocals - you can be assured it's all Parsons all the time. Parsons’ dedication to perfecting his act was recognised in 2003 when he performed live at Michael Jackson’s 45^th birthday at the Orpheum Theatre in LA an honour, I am told, only a select few have experienced.

If, like me, you are forever a Jackson fan then you need to see FOREVER JACKSON - this is the closest you will ever get to a live MJ performance, hence it is understandably the No.1 UK Michael Jackson tribute show.

You can rock with FOREVER JACKSON at the Joburg Theatre until 19 June.

In 2007, Michael Jackson told an Ebony magazine writer "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world,” author Katherine E. Krohn wrote in her 2010 book, Michael Jackson: Ultimate Music Legend. “Through it … I know I will live forever.” - Quote

Who's your Daddy?

Chris Forrest shares his journey, as a first-time dad, through the challenging trimesters of pregnancy in a humorous and honest way in his one-man show; Who’s your Daddy?

The 2015 Celebrity MasterChef SA winner serves up laugh-a-minute parenting advice to guide anxious first-time parents through the highs and lows of pregnancy.

Preferring my sanity and free time, I myself have no children so did not expect to enjoy the show half as much as I did, but it truly made me laugh out loud in empathy.

My number one rule when attending any comedy show and preferring not to be picked on; “Do not under any circumstances sit in the front row or thereabout”. Chris’s golden rule to get through pregnancy relatively unscathed; ‘Don’t argue with a pregnant woman’, a first-time father seated in the vicinity of the front-row became well acquainted with this advice during the show I attended.

Written by Chris Forrest and directed by Bevan Cullinan, Who’s your Daddy is a show not to be missed by anyone who enjoys a good belly laugh. The show runs until 18^th June 2016 at Sandton’s Theatre on the Square.

Listen to the podcast of my interview with Chris Forrest here: Jozi Today with Natashia on Radio Today

Tickets: www.strictlytickets.co.za

Show Times: Tuesday – Friday @ 20:30 Saturday @ 17:00 and 20:30