Littering was the target at the Slam Da Trash Festival in Newtown, where young inner city residents played basketball, danced and listened to hip-hop tunes.

With R3 000 at stake, many dance groups tried hard to impress the audience

HUNDREDS of inner city youth thronged Newtown, participating in various sporting and cultural activities during the Slam Da Trash Festival, an attempt by the City of Johannesburg to reclaim city streets.

Organised by Region F and the Newtown Management District, the day-long festival was held at Mary Fitzgerald Square on Saturday, 28 June and featured a basketball match, dance competitions, street theatre and performances by an array of hip-hop musicians.

A basketball match between two giants of basketball's League of Pros - Egoli Magic and Wits Alumni - set the scene for a fun-filled day. The two teams squared up mid-morning and ended with Egoli Magic pipping Wits 65-57. The winning team walked away with R5 000 cash for their efforts.

Then came the popular dance competition, in which dancing groups from Region F and beyond vied for R3 000 in prize money. Reptiles from Mofolo, Soweto, wowed the crowd with their captivating moves. However, other groups like Miracle Sneakers, K05, Two-Man Crew and Leviethane Pantsula Dance from Katlehong in Ekurhuleni were not to be outdone and kept the audience on their feet with electric dance styles.

In the end, it was left to hip-hop sensation ProKid to wow the youthful audience

But at the end Mante, a talented girl from the inner city, won the prize after a close contest between groups and individuals.

But by far the highlight of the day was the hip-hop extravaganza featuring hip-hop sensations JR and ProKid and emceed by YFM's Lee Kasumba. JR sent the young crowd into a frenzy with his runaway hit Kgata Lenna - and ProKid did not to disappoint when he dished out Dankie San, the song that catapulted him to stardom, and his latest offering, Bhampa!

Region F's director, Nathi Mthethwa, who enjoyed the day tremendously, said the festival was a way of teaching the youth not to litter. "It's about taking charge of the inner city and keeping it clean and this festival will help to foster this culture of ownership among the youth."

The festival was a way to bring back people into the inner city, said Shaun O'Shea, Region F's communications, marketing and tourism manager.

Dancing came in all forms, much to the delight of the audience

"Today we are targeting youth but this is an ongoing campaign that involves different target groups. We are currently conducting some education campaigns in places like Hillbrow, where street theatre group go around performing for all age groups."

Joburg recently launched an educational campaign, It's My Inner City - Let's Keep It Clean, of which the festival was part, O'Shea explained. "The campaign involves distributing pamphlets written in different languages and a door-to-door campaign."

Mthethwa added that the campaign covered the whole of Region F, including places such as Booysens.

"The anti-litter campaign will go on until 2010 and beyond because we acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done."

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