Cape Town Port manager, Sipho Nzuza said: “The ports were restricted to public access a few years ago following the introduction of the global ISPS Code that aims to ensure the safety of ports, port assets and cargo, but through this festival we’ve decided to open up some of the restricted areas for the pleasure of our citizens. The primary goal of our port festivals is to provide marine ‘edu-tainment’ for our future generations.”
Cape Town’s Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) – renowned as the 'Tavern of the Seas' – will have volunteers from its Sailing Academy participating in a fun yacht race at the festival on both days. The academy presently caters for over 100 young sailors – many from disadvantaged backgrounds – who join the club’s sail training to improve their skills and become part of RCYC’s skills building programme. There will also be a yacht sail-past allowing the public to admire the array of yachts in close proximity.
Another highlight will be the visit by South African-born Neal Petersen, a world-class professional solo racing yachtsman, global investor and award-winning author of Journey of a Hope Merchant, who will make an informal stop at the festival to inspire guests. Petersen completed two amazing journeys in his life: a single-handed yacht race around the world, travelling 27,000 miles, during nine months at sea, alone, in the smallest yacht he designed and built himself; and the journey of overcoming racial prejudice during the Apartheid era in South Africa, a childhood physical disability and poverty, just to make it to the starting line.
Sea Rescue volunteers will give a rescue demonstration on Saturday and Sunday to give people an idea of how Sea Rescue crews carry out an operation. These men and women are all unpaid volunteers who are on duty 24/7. They go through a demanding training programme to join the rescue crew and spend hundreds of hours training for a real rescue.
Much will be happening away from the water as well, throughout the festival. There will be live entertainment on the main festival stage at Duncan Dock, with Cape Town pop music trio Beatenberg, Cape Town singer and songwriter Chad Saaiman and hometown heartthrob Jimmy Nevis to set the tone on Saturday. Cape Town’s DJ Mizz will also be a highlight on Saturday’s programme. He shot to fame after producing the beat and instrumentals of one of the biggest house music hits of 2014, ‘Koze Kuse’, and continued to impress with his work when his song ‘Count Your Blessings’, with Rabs Vhafuwi, became another hit.
Crowd favourites Freshlyground and hip-hop sensation Cassper Nyovest headline Sunday’s festivities, with DJ Sir Vincent rocking the decks in between.
In addition to the stars of the local music scene, the Cape Town Port Festival boasts all-day activities for the whole family – with a manned kid-zone allocated to help keep the little ones entertained and an array of food and arts and craft stalls on-site to tantalise the taste buds and the eyes.
An informative port tour has been planned and will take place on both Saturday – from midday to 4.30pm and Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
The festival will open at 10am on both days and port-goers can enjoy a colourful opening parade on Saturday from the port’s South Arm Road entrance, featuring Cape Minstrels, stilt walkers, mascots and more. The Amy Biehl Foundation – which offers programmes to develop and empower youth living in vulnerable communities within the Western Cape – will participate throughout the festival with various performances featuring kwaito and gumboot dancers, a marimba band and traditional dancers.
A careers exhibition throughout the daytime hours will help the youth and job seekers find out more about the range of maritime career opportunities in South Africa. Through its range of waterside and landside activities, the port authority intends exposing port communities to the activities of its ports and the opportunities that exist in the maritime industry.
Entry to the Cape Town Port Festival is free.
Festivities will take place at A Berth and Duncan Dock from 10am until 10pm on Saturday, 30 April and from 10am until 17pm on Sunday, 1 May 2016. Parking will be available in designated areas in the port, as well as at the V&A Waterfront, where the closest parking will be the Clock Tower Centre Garage.
