The annual Buyel’ ekhaya Pan African Cultural Festival returns to the shores of East London for its ninth successive year.
It promises to be bigger with a hot line-up featuring headline acts such as Oliver Mtukudzi, Black Coffee, Ringo Madlingozi, Zahara, Berita, Amanda Black, Vusi Nova, Distruction Boyz, DJ Tira, Ntando, Lady Zamar and many more.
Festival Founder, Nomahlubi Mazwai believes that it is pivotal to the sustainability of festivals to continue to contribute meaningfully to the communities to which they belong. “Buyel'Ekhaya is a clarion call for all who belong to the Eastern Cape to return and plough back meaningfully to the development of the province's youth,” says Mazwai. “The Eastern Cape is a province that, despite its wealth of culture and heritage, continues to be defined as the poorest province in South Africa, with the highest rate of youth unemployment. Buyel’Ekhaya has pioneered initiatives that are aimed at exposing and developing the latent talent that resides within the Eastern Cape youth, through strategic partnerships with the Department of Arts and Culture, the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing Seta (FP&M SETA), the National Lotteries Commission and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and the SABC,” she explains.
Included in the programme this year is the second instalment of the Buyel’ ekhaya Fashion Development Programme where once again emerging Eastern Cape designers have been chosen to participate in an intense skills development and mentorship programme with top designers Thula Sindi and David Tlale, followed by the 2nd annual Buyel’ ekhaya Fashion show under curatorship of Eastern Cape born fashion producer Andiswa Manxiwa. These emerging designers will showcase alongside internationally renowned Eastern Cape designer Laduma Ngxokolo, iconic designers David Tlale, Thula Sindi and Gert-Johan Coetzee as well as Taibo Bacar of Mozambique.
Tickets to the Music Festival are on sale at Computicket, Shoprite at Checkers outlets nationwide, at R200 for general admission and R50 for cooler box entry. Log on to www.buyelekhaya.co.za for more information.
