Community Chest Carnival

The annual Community Chest Carnival is back this March and you can be sure they’ll be serving up the usual dish of rides, drinks, food and family fun. Every year the carnival is hosted at Maynardville Park, Wynberg.  The four-day event, starts on Wednesday 29 February and runs until Saturday 3 Marc.

This year the organisers are promising paved walkways, larger public spaces and entrances, as well as more trees, making sure you aren’t exposed to the heat. There’ll also be plenty of old favourites – international food stalls will again be a central attraction. Sample authentic cuisine from around the world, including Holland, Italy, Austria and Mexico. make sure you stop by Brazil for the incredible caipirinhas. If you’re taking little ones along be sure to check out the face painting and balloon sculpting.

Ticket prices and trading hours are:
Wednesday 29 February: 18h00 – 23h00
Adults (+18) R20
Children (-6) Free
Family ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children under 18) R25
Under 18s R10
Pensioners R5

Thursday 1 March: 18h00 – 23h00
Adults (+18) R 20
Children (-6) Free
Family ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children under 18) R25
Under 18s R10
Pensioners R5

Friday 2 March: 17h00 – 24h00
Adults (+18) R30
Children (-6) Free
Family ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children under 18) R50
Under 18s R20
Pensioners R15

Saturday 3 March: 12h00 – 23h00
Adults (+18) R30
Children (-6) Free
Family ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children under 18) R50
Under 18s R20
Pensioners R15

J&B Met 2012 – Something Different

It’s time to get your glitz on for the annual J&B Met. The event is filled to the brim with the who’s who of South Africa … and of course us normal plebs as well. This year the event takes place on Saturday 28 January at the Kenilworth Race Course.

This year J&B is challenging the convention of what one would normally wear to the J&B Met and so this year’s theme calls those attending to take up the challenge and arrive at Kenilworth in something different. Not sure what that means exactly but at least it gives you a bit more of a challenge than previous year’s themes – black and white ring a bell?

The event starts at10am and tickets cost R175 per person and can be bought through Webtickets.

Apricot Picking at De Krans Wine Cellar

I instantly fell in love with this idea when I came across it online and just had to share! De Krans Wine Cellar in Calitzdorp is inviting visitors to celebrate the return of summer at their annual apricot picking. Those keen to embrace their inner farmer can make their way to the farm from 23 November until 7 December this year.

A kg of freshly picked apricots will cost you R3.90 and visitors are welcome to bring their own containers for their haul. If you don’t want to lug a bunch of containers along you can also buy empty containers at De Krans at a small fee.

Visitors will be able to pick and sample deliciously sweet, juicy Bulida apricots at the farm, every day (except Sundays) from 08h00 until 16h00.

Vygieshof Home for the Aged will also offer a delicious snoekbraai on Wednesdays and Saturdays at De Krans. The braai forms part of their annual fundraising projects. The delicious lunches will be available between 11h30 and 14h30 at R39 per person. To avoid disappointment visitors are urged to book beforehand – the meals prove to be very popular so it’s best to pick up the phone to avoid disappointment.

Situated in the picturesque Little Karoo town of Calitzdorp, De Krans is home to some of South Africa’s award-winning ports. Visitors to the farm are also welcome to sample their wide range of popular ports and wines, especially the Pink Port, the first of its kind to be launched in South Africa.

For more information on activities at the De Krans cellar or about their wines, please contact Hannacke Fourie or Helet Viljoen at 044 – 213-3314.

GoodLuck Live at Mzolis

Fans of the electro-jazz band GoodLuck will be thrilled to know that the band is set to play one more gig for their Cape Town fans before they head off on their tour to Holland. The band will be performing live at Mzolis Cape Town on Sunday 18 September 2011.

Barely a year after combining their passion for good music, these three musos have been charming crowds with their new wave of electronics. It’s really no surprise, because there’s a power to their music – that lifts and energises and makes you feel like you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but on the dance floor.

If you are yet to hear GoodLuck live then you’ve been missing out. The band is the best thing to come out of Cape Town since the Goldfish.


For a full list of their upcoming gigs visit their gig guide.

You can also listen to samples of their music on the GoodLuck website.

Boxing a Hit in the Mother City

It seems boxing is set to make a comeback in Cape Town due to the staging of a high-profile public tournament at the historic ‘The Rotunda’ in Camp’s Bay on 10 September. I went to an amateur boxing night at The Armoury Boxing Club a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so much that I thought I would share this upcoming boxing event with you all.

The tournament will feature a total of 10 matches, comprising both amateur and professional bouts, with the main event billed as a national heavyweight contest between Cape Town’s Nkosana Sobethu and Raymond Bloem from Gauteng. 

The tournament at The Rotunda at The Bay Hotel in Camp’s Bay takes place on 10 September between 18h30 and 23h30, and tickets can be purchased at a cost of R100 (general tickets) or R150 (VIP tickets) by contacting Vanessa on 021 405 8200 or v.voges@sturrockshipping.com.

Photo Booth Fun

Photo booths have become all the rage for parties, weddings and events. The fun festive past-time is a hit at parties and it’s a great way to give your guests a memento of all the fun they had at your shindig.

There are two types of photo booths available in the Cape Town area – choose from a retro photo booth or a box photo booth.

A retro booth is available to hire from The Original Retro Photo Booth Company in Cape Town and Stellenbosch – they specialise in hiring photo booths for weddings and 2st birthday parties. The retro booth brings back the the charm of yesteryear by putting the ‘booth’ back into ‘photo booth.’ Retro booths are equipped with state-of-the-art photographic technology that will have your guests looking their very best!

The retro booth is super fast and easy to use. Guests using the booth simply press the ‘start’ button on the touch screen when they’re ready to go and photo strips are printed in less than 6 seconds! The booth is big enough to accommodate both small and large groups – with a back curtain that can be moved aside.

The Original Retro Photo Booth Company offers a 2 hour basic photo booth package with extra hours available and includes the following:

Unlimited photo strip (2×6 in) prints.
Personal online gallery filled with all your photo strips.
Friendly operator to assist guests.

The Original Retro Photo Booth Company offers a prop kit and guest book as extra options when hiring the retro booth. A prop kit is a no-brainer! Your family and friends will love the added fun of dressing up for their photos and a guest book is a great way to capture the memories of your event.

A box booth is available to hire from Party Photo.They offer three packages: Basic fun (includes: 3 hour booth rental, technician, 100 photos, and 1 DVD containing photos), Mega Fun (includes: 5 hour booth rental, technician, 120 photos, and 1 USB memory stick with all photos), and Corporate Fun (8 hour booth rental, technician, unlimited photos, 1 USB memory stick with all photos, and uploading photos to your company website).

Most go for the traditional photo strip layout as seen below but there are other options as well. Kiki Photo Booth in Cape Town offer branded landscape-style photos that serve as great party favours and are also a great option for corporate events .

Most photo booth also come with dress-up gear and props to add a little extra silliness to the photo booth. Props help to loosen your up your guests and get them in the partying mood. If your booth doesn’t come with props you might want to consider buying a few and putting them out for guests.

Cutesy Cupcakes

I have a new obsession and it comes in the form of baked treats from Vanilla Milkshake Events that are simply too cute to eat. Their cakes and cupcakes are tasty as hell but it’s their stunning creativity that has me watering at the mouth. They’re constantly updating their Facebook page with new sweet creations to order and they also make custom cakes and cupcakes to suit your needs. Here are a few of their creations that I couldn’t resist sharing.

 These adorable sheep can be added to cupcakes and cake creations. I personally think their baker is a genius when it comes to creating cake toppers.

I’m a sucker for anything rugby themed so when I saw this Bokkie cake I was beside myself with excitement. I’m a bit of a planner so this cake had me thinking of an excuse to host a rugby themed party asap. Come Rugby World Cup time I’ll definitely be ordering one of these babies for a RWC themed party. Go Bokke!

These little duckies are too precious for words. They’d be a perfect addition to an Easter party or even a baby shower. A lot of Vanilla Milkshake’s goodies are kiddie themed but they are moving towards doing more grown up things with a few wedding cakes and adult birthday parties under the belt.
Try them out for your next event – the owners are lovely and are great at working within a budget.