It’s the final weekend of this year’s National Arts Festival (NAF) and there are still plenty of family-friendly activities to do! Last week Grocott’s Mail brought our readers our own festival guide, jam-packed with family fun and FREE things to do over Festival. With only a few days left, make sure your family’s weekend is filled with excitement and wonder. We’ve picked some highlights and recommendations that we think our readers (and their kids) would enjoy! Remember, prior booking for tickets is necessary, and tipping of the street performers and buskers is encouraged!
The Standard Bank Village Green
The extensive Village Green is packed with food and drink stalls, arts, crafts and trinkets for sale, as well as some amazing buskers and performers. There’s also a kid zone and a train offering rides for R10! All the performances are free, but tipping is highly encouraged. Grocott’s Mail highly recommends each of this year’s international buskers; including Stickman, JP Koala and Victor Rubilar!
Visual Art Exhibitions
There are tons of art exhibitions that run daily from 9 until 5pm (with a few exceptions, check the programme online). We’ve picked the family-friendly ones that you might enjoy!
Procreate by Tori Stowe; “the visual documentation of a family project to: find, ID and draw, a unique creature every single day of 2019” @ CARINUS ART SCHOOL, BEAUFORT ST
Gabrielle Goliath 2019 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art This song is for… @52 MONUMENT GALLERY
Luke Kaplan’s Hinterland @1 STUDIO 1 GALLERY, RHODES FINE ART
Five Photographers: A Tribute to David Goldblatt @1 ATHERSTONE ROOM, MONUMENT
Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture Social Reflections @4 FOYER, ALBANY HISTORY MUSEUM
Eastern Cape Department Of Sport, Recreation Arts & Culture Eastern Cape Craft Collection @1 VILLAGE GREEN PROVINCIAL CRAFT STALL
Creativate Digital Arts Festival
Do you and your kids love playing with Legos, video games or other techie kit? This one’s for you!
Creativate is a space for the visually curious, tech-oriented, open-minded festival-goer. Recommended for ages 12 and up, Creativate has a vast array of free exhibitions (book your spot in advance for talks and workshops!) and entertainment that’s sure to blow your mind! Daily @ MONUMENT, THOMAS PRINGLE HALL
Noluthando Bioscope movie nights, part of Monument Movie Club
For R5 per person, you and the kids can enjoy a family flick together! The Bioscope will be showing films like Jurassic World, The Lion King, Shrek 4 and more! The family flick is at 5pm, while the adult flick starts at 7:30pm.
Kids recommended shows
There’s still time to catch one of these great family-theatre performances! Tickets range from R50 to R80, prior booking is necessary.
The Bookbinder @ 38 VICTORIA THEATRE, 10:00 5 JULY 10:00 6 JULY 10:00 7 JULY 10:00 & 12:00, R50 FULL, R45 CONCESSION
Flying Solo @ 16 MEMORY HALL, 5 JULY 10:00, R50 FULL, R45 CONCESSION
The Great Pangolin Mystery @ DRILL HALL, 10:00 5 JULY, 6 JULY, R80 FULL, R75 CONCESSION
It’s shaping up to a beautiful weekend, with sunshine and cooler temperatures ranging from a high of 22 and a low of 4..brrr! You’ve been in Makhanda long enough by now to know what to pack for the day; don’t forget the sweater and coat, as well as sunscreen, a reusable water bottle and eco-friendly coffee cup. Enjoy the weekend, and we hope to see you next year!
