30 August 2007
It is all systems go for this year's Gauteng 'Pale Ya Rona' Carnival taking
place on Saturday, 8 September 2007.
The carnival parade is expected to start from the National School of Arts in
Braamfontein, through the streets of Braamfontein via the Nelson Mandela Bridge
and ending with an explosion of entertainment in Newtown.
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa is expected to deliver the keynote address
and lead the parade in one of the floats. Every year, September is devoted to
Heritage and Tourism Month and the Gauteng 'Pale Ya Rona' Carnival serves as a
milestone event to launch the provincial Heritage Month programme. The
carnival, is the third to be held annually in Gauteng, is part of the Creative
Industries Strategy which is aimed at developing the creative industries to
contribute to economic growth, job creation, community development and urban
regeneration.
Since preparations for this year's carnival started, hundreds of Gauteng
communities have benefited through skills development and job creation. Ten
production assistants and ten trainees, four of whom are women, have been
contracted to build floats and costumes and a further 50 women have been
contracted for six weeks to produce 500 costumes per region in preparation for
the hosting carnival.
Over 7 000 participants from across Gauteng are expected to parade in the
3,5 kilometre route of the carnival spectacle.
"Across the world carnivals combines performing and visual arts into a
celebration of collective identity and community aspiration. In Brazil and
throughout the Caribbean, carnivals have proved to be a major tourist
attraction, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue. We therefore invite the
people of Gauteng to come and revel in the 'Pale Ya Rona' Carnival," said
Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Barbara Creecy.
The parade will represent months of preparation which has included drumming
and choreography workshops, design, costume and mask making, welding and
marshall training, among others. The choreography workshops have been running
from 25 June in all the regions of Gauteng. This is to ensure that artistic
resources and skills are transferred to communities throughout the
province.
For more information contact:
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Tel: 011 355 2578
Cell: 083 507 8068
Issued by: Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Gauteng
Provincial Government
30 August 2007
