15 - 22 March, 2010

I’M getting tickets for the Elton John show. Follow LUCILLE DAVIE'S selection of the most interesting city activities.

Celebrating Simplicity
Children's games and toys are the focus of an installation at GoetheonMain in downtown Joburg. Puleng Plessie and Shonisani Maphangwa’s “Celebrating Simplicity” looks at games, past and present, with a particular focus on Soweto. Following a workshop last week, the exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, 20 March at 11am, and runs until 6 April.

Elton John
Pop legend Sir Elton John will be in Joburg for a single concert as part of his series of picnic-style concerts in SA, Under African Skies. He will be performing at Emmarentia Dam on Sunday, 21 March, before he flies off for concerts in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. This is the first time that he will perform on South African soil, although he has been here before on humanitarian initiatives. Tickets are R501, available from Computicket. Read more.

‡Khomani San: the last of the first
In 1999, 25 000ha of land in the Kalahari Gemsbok Park (now Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) were returned to the ‡Khomani San, along with symbolic and cultural rights to a larger part of the park. They were also given six farms, totalling some 36 000ha of land, outside the park. In the years that followed their initial jubilation, despair set in as the wrongs of the past failed to be righted and dreams of returning to their ancestral land and lifestyle slowly crumbled. A death led to a Human Rights Commission inquiry, and there has since been a turnaround in the situation. This talk, by ecologists Phillipa Holden and David Grossman, will consider the failings of the land restitution process and the factors that contributed to the demise of the situation. It will touch on who the ‡Khomani San are and the environment they live in, and it will consider the challenges and opportunities presented by having to leapfrog from being hunter-gatherers to being global citizens in the 21st century. What does their future hold? Are their rights secure? Holden and Grossman started working with them in 1998. The talk takes place at the Origins Centre on Tuesday, 16 March at 6.30pm. Cost is R35. RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 011 717 4700.

Shaolin Wheel of Life
The masters of kung fu, the Shaolin monks, are truly amazing. The Wheel of Life showcases the practising monks' martial arts skills, with ferocious stunts and awe-inspiring feats, such as breaking iron bars with a bare head, being hoisted up on razor-sharp spears, smashing bricks, lying between beds of nails and swords - all with no ill effects. The show runs at the Teatro at Montecasino, until Monday, 22 March. Read more.

Reptiles and amphibians
Get to the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve on Thursday, 18 March for “Reptiles and amphibians in the KNR – latest research”, presented by Ahmed Nadgee, the president of the SA Herpetological Society. Be at the Palm Room, Klipriviersberg Recreation Centre, Peggy Vera Road, Kibler Park at 7pm. Cost is R50. RSVP to Clem on 082 458 2816 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Thavarani on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hospital strikes
Join the Ethics Alive 2010 symposium entitled “Hospital strikes – should health-care workers be allowed to go on strike?” on Wednesday, 17 March at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. On the panel will be prof Leslie London, a human rights expert and head of the School of Public Health at UCT; prof David McQuoid-Mason, medico-legal expert at UKZN; and prof Mkhululi Lukhele, chairperson of the Public Health Sector Doctors, at the SA Medical Association. Be at the auditorium at the Wits Medical School, 7 York Road, Parktown, at 5.30pm. RSVP to Tejal Mistri on 011 717 2636 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Festival of Fame
Go and enjoy the energy and exuberance of young students in this week’s Festival of Fame, which runs from Monday to Saturday, 15-20 March at various venues in Braamfontein. With the theme of "Truly famous, newly famous and about to be famous", the festival showcases the talents of young learners, up-coming stars, established artists and wannabes. Tickets are R60. Get all the details from the website.

The first Ethiopians
Attend a talk entitled “The first Ethiopians: the image of Africa and Africans in the early Mediterranean world”. The guest speaker is prof Abebe Zegeye, director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research. Be at the David Krut Bookstore, Arts on Main at 6pm on Thursday, 18 March. RSVP to Julia Wright on 011 484 5907/10 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Secure parking is available around the venue in Fox and Berea Streets.

Hello South Africa
Get to the launch of Hello South Africa, a pocket-sized phrase book, boasting all of SA's 11 official languages and providing insight into its rich linguistic and cultural makeup. The book enables readers to communicate, on a basic level, in all of our official languages, as well as serving as a souvenir of SA's rich diversity of languages, cultures and magnificent natural beauty. Be at the Nelson Mandela Square Exclusive Books on Wednesday, 17 March at 6.30pm. RSVP to 011 784 5416 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Biodiversity in Angola & SA
A skills-transfer expedition between the SA National Biodiversity Institute and the Angolan government to study the biodiversity of the little researched natural environment of the south-western corner of Angola, recently took place. A talk and slide show on the expedition will take place on Saturday, 20 March, given by Andrew Hankey, assistant curator and specialist horticulturist at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden. Be at the garden at 9am. Cost is R80. Book with Karen: email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Concert for Haiti
The Making a Difference 4 Haiti Benefit Concert will take on Sunday, 21 March, with a host of SA performers including PJ Powers, the Rainbow Tenors, Josie Field, and Bongani Nxumalo from 94.7. The concert will take place at the Big Top Arena at Carnival City from midday to 4pm. Tickets are priced at between R100 and R150 and are available from Computicket. Read more.

Kerri Evans
Get to the Everard Read Gallery for New Works by Kerri Evans, on until 4 April. The gallery is at 6 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, and is open Mondays to Fridays 9am to 6pm, Saturdays 9am to 1pm.

Archaeology of past 100 000 years
Get to a lecture presented by the SA Archaeological Society entitled “The big picture: population size, culture change and the archaeology of the last 100 000 years in southern Africa”, by prof Judy Sealy, head of archaeology at UCT. Sealy will examine some of the conflicting interpretations of research on Still Bay, Howieson’s Poort and the emergence of modern humans in the light of archaeological evidence from more recent times. This takes place on Thursday, 18 March at 8pm at the auditorium, Roedean School, 35 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown. Cost is R25. For more info call 082 257 1907.

The JPO concert
Catch the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra’s last concert of the first season this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, 17-18 March, at the Linder Auditorium. Go and enjoy Mendelssohn’s Symphony no 3, op 56, A minor (Scottish); and Brahms’s Concerto for Piano, no 2, op 83, B-flat major. The soloist is pianist Bryan Wallick. The conductor is Yasuo Shinozaki. The concert starts at 8pm. Tickets are available from Computicket.

Insects at Melville Koppies
Tiny but not to be overlooked, insects abound on Melville Koppies. Go and learn more about them on Saturday, 20 March in a course entitled “Insects – our planet’s pollinators”. You’ll attend a short introductory talk, then walk with nets to catch and identify them. Cost is R50. Book with Wendy on 011 482 4797. Meet at the Kafue Road entrance in Emmarentia at 8:30am.

Tree course at Kloofendal
Do a one-day course on Bankenveld or Highveld trees on Tuesday, 16 March at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, between 8am to 1pm. Cost is R250. Booking is essential – phone Karin on 072 595 6991. The garden is in Galena Street, Kloofendal.

Sundowners at UJ
Take in the free Monday Sundowner Concerts at the Kingsway campus of UJ in Auckland Park. This week you can listen to cellist Carel Henn and pianist Elize Kruger, who will be playing Pezzo Capriccioso, Op 62. by Tchaikovsky; the Brahms Sonata in F major, Op 100; Debussy’s Sonata in D minor; and David Popper’s Elfentanz. The show starts at 5.30pm and takes place at the UJ Art Centre, Entrance 1 on Kingsway Road. For more info call 082 876 0406.

Note: events are subject to change without notice.