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The Soweto Festival Expo shows off the town at its best, with organisers wanting to help build the Soweto brand locally and abroad.
SEPTEMBER is Heritage Month, and with it comes a host of celebrations, including the Soweto Festival Expo on Heritage Day weekend.
Celebrate Soweto's richness and diversity at the Soweto Festival Expo
Heritage Day is on 24 September, falling on a Friday this year. The festival runs from 23 to 26 September at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus. It is expected to be an uncompromising experience of culture, business and entertainment.
With sponsorship from the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority, many small businesses will be able to exhibit their goods alongside industry leaders, as well as learn valuable lessons through skills transfer workshops and interaction with larger organisations.
“The festival is the principal event in Soweto that draws together business, SMMEs, youth, community organisations, consumers and all the people of Soweto on an annual basis to celebrate Soweto’s richness and diversity,” explains Toby Chance, the festival organiser and managing director of Adele Lucas Promotions.
“Together with our partners the Greater Soweto Business Forum, we aim to improve on the quality of the experience on offer year after year.”
This year, activities will include workshops and exhibitions that will cover everything from food, beauty and business, to arts and crafts. There will also be performances, music, stand-up comedy, poetry readings and storytelling.
Popular musicians are a drawcard at the annual Soweto Festival Expo
To empower young people, there will be a Youth Zone, where people in the 16- to 25-year-old age group will be targeted with business information and sound career advice. “We want the youth to know that this festival expo is here to empower, educate and entertain them.”
The Youth Zone is an evolution of the Careers Village that played a vital role in the first three Soweto Festivals. It was developed and adapted in 2008 and 2009, before evolving into the Youth Zone. The idea is to create a core activity area with a focus on “edutainment” to attract visitors to the exhibition. It will be located close to the festival entrance, in the main sports hall of the campus.
Sponsors for this year’s expo include: ETV, Jozi FM and the University of Johannesburg. Organisers want to create a sense of pride in Soweto in the eyes of all South Africans and help establish the town as a global brand. It is also a platform for the promotion of government departments, community organisations and NGOs.
The festival will be taking place at the campus for the third time. It is on Chris Hani Road, opposite Orlando Power Station. It’s a 10-minute drive from the N1 and five minutes from Maponya Mall.
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