Nigeria Content Online

South Africa is
gearing up for one of its biggest art events, the Mangaung African
Cultural Festival, popularly known as Macufe. It is a colourful event
that attracts, yearly, tourists from all over the world. In its
thirteenth year, the festival, which opened on October 1, will hold
until October 10. This year’s theme is, ‘Monateng Kaofela (Together in
Fun).

Billed to hold in
Bloemfontein, a town steeped in natural beauty and history, there will
be live performances from popular South African artists based at home
and abroad, including the US-based Jonathan Butler. International
artists expected to grace the show are the American Jazz and R‘n’B
singer, Gerald Albright, and Malian-born World Music star, Salif Keita,
during the 10 days of the event.

There will be
tours to the Excelsior Lion Park, traditional dance, music, food, an
exhibition of traditional African fashion, beads, wood work, comedy
shows, among other highlights. There will also be a special memorial
programme in honour of the late Brenda Fassie, the energetic and
soulful artist whose music stirred many hearts.

Still basking in
the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the organisers of the event,
The Free State Tourism Authority (FSTA), in partnership with South
African Tourism, are introducing unique elements into the festival that
visitors from other parts of Africa can relate with. The Macufe
Festival will play host to tourists from Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia,
Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, DRC, Angola, Swaziland, and other parts of
the world.

Phumi Dhlomo,
Regional Director of Africa and Domestic at South African Tourism,
says: “We give a warm welcome to all those who will be visiting Bloem
and attending Macufe. South Africa is a welcoming nation with that
special brand of African hospitality so we truly hope you have a lovely
time.”

For interested visitors, the office hours will attend to enquiries
about accommodation, transportation, and other information from 11h00
to midnight. The contact number is 051 412 7940.