Cape Town Tourism’s blog has been nominated in two categories at the 2010 South African Blog Awards: Best Travel Blog of the Year and Best Company Blog of the Year. Take time to vote for our blog every day from now until September 17.

Winners will be announced on September 25, at the annual awards ceremony at the One & Only Hotel in Cape Town.

The Cape Town Tourism blog is a resource where anyone interested in Cape Town can find daily images and information about the Mother City.

Cape Town Tourism would like to thank everyone who played a part in nominating our blog for the awards. To vote for our blog, click on the banner below. 

This photograph of a turtle at the Two Oceans Aquarium was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Adriaan Fenwick.

Adriaan says: “I took this photo when we visited the Two Oceans Aquarium with our baby son to show him all the lovely sea creatures. We watched this sea turtle swim around gracefully in the main entrance tank.

“After some time he came down to the bottom of the tank where the rocks were and gave me an opportunity to photograph him. When I was taking the shot it literally looked like he was free-falling as he stayed in that position while gliding down.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Adriaan Fenwick 2010

Enter our photo competition

Cape Town Tourism is running the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Winter Competition 2010, and wants your best winter photographs of Cape Town by September 15. There is a generous prize up for grabs, which includes R10 000 cash and a night for two at the five-star Greenways Hotel in Claremont. Visit the competition page to find out what you need to do to stand a chance of winning.

Visit our winter page to find out why Cape Town Winters are Cool.

The I ♥ Cape Town Facebook page, which has more than 118 000 fans, is now South Africa’s third most popular, behind the Springboks and Gary the ToothFairy (aka local comedian Bevan Cullinan).

This is according to Memeburn, a company that specialises in website analysis. A blog posted on the Memeburn website today, written by Alistair Fairweather, listed the 10 most popular Facebook pages in the country.

Fairweather wrote of the I ♥ Cape Town page: “South Africa’s most beloved city was bound to make an appearance somewhere in our list. The fact that half the fans are probably German is irrelevant. Cape Town Tourism deserves a big pat on the back for this one.”

The page has become a place for Cape Town residents and visitors to share their photos, experiences and opinions. It is also a great place for visitors to get local advice about where to go and what to do in the Mother City.

I ♥ Cape Town has up to twice as many fans as some of the pages in the bottom half of the top 10.

Other groups that made the top 10 are Die Antwoord, Bafana Bafana Supporters, Jack Parrow, Huisgenoot, The Blue Bulls, The Power of 5FM and Steve Hofmeyr.

You too can become a fan of I ♥ Cape Town on Facebook.

This photograph of a party in Long Street was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Justin van Zyl.

Justin says: “It was the opening day of the World Cup, and after watching South Africa play I stepped out on to Long Street to find the entire street filled with people singing, dancing and generally celebrating together.

“It was the last bit of sunlight and I wanted to capture the crowds before it was too dark.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Justin van Zyl 2010

Enter our photo competition

Cape Town Tourism is running the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Winter Competition 2010, and wants your best winter photographs of Cape Town by September 15. There is a generous prize up for grabs, which includes R10 000 cash and a night for two at the five-star Greenways Hotel in Claremont. Visit the competition page to find out what you need to do to stand a chance of winning.

Visit our winter page to find out why Cape Town Winters are Cool.

Kalk Bay Theatre. Photo courtesy kittlavoie

If you feel like having a good giggle on a Tuesday evening, head out to Kalk Bay to experience Theatresports at Kalk Bay Theatre.

Now in its 16th year, Theatresports is recognised as South Africa’s longest-running improvisation theatre show. Each week, two teams of actors compete in a series of impromptu games that are suggested and judged by the audience.

In a Cape Argus review in June this year, entertainment journalist Zane Henry wrote: “There’s no way of knowing what to expect. I witnessed a party attended by a cowboy, an exterminator and a lawnmower. I heard some of the most ridiculous foreign accents. I saw actors corpsing shamefacedly. I laughed till I cramped.”

Kalk Bay Theatre is located at 52 Main Road, Kalk Bay.

From 19h00, theatre-goers can enjoy a pasta dinner before the show at a cost of R100 of adults and R90 for learners, including the cost of the show.

Tickets for just the show cost R50 for adults and R40 for learners. Doors open at 20h10.

For more information, call +27 (0)72 939 3351.

This photograph of Cape Town’s Wheel of Excellence was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Marc De Vries.

Marc says: “Pretty much like anybody else with a camera, I too wanted to capture this 50-metre-wide Wonder Wheel at the entrance to the V&A Waterfront. Ever since the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, I’ve been planning in my mind’s eye how best to shoot the wheel with the Cape Town cityscape beyond. It was only on Tuesday, 10 August, after a long day at the office, that I made my way to this spot along the canal edge in an attempt to capture the image I had visualised.

“For me personally, this particular scene stirs up fond memories of the fan walk, marching with friends among thousands to the watch the Netherlands vs Uruguay semi-final at the V&A Waterfront on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. The World Cup may have come and gone, but the lasting legacy of the spirit and fever felt by all resounds in the hearts of many. We felt it, we were there :-).”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Marc De Vries 2010

Enter our photo competition

Cape Town Tourism is running the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Winter Competition 2010, and wants your best winter photographs of Cape Town by September 15. There is a generous prize up for grabs, which includes R10 000 cash and a night for two at the five-star Greenways Hotel in Claremont. Visit the competition page to find out what you need to do to stand a chance of winning.

Visit our winter page to find out why Cape Town Winters are Cool.

The Labia in Cape Town. Photo courtesy Michael Thorne

If you are intrigued to find out what the Loeries is all about, or if you attended the awards last year and have a bad case of amnesia, you can check out who-won-what by viewing the 2009 Loerie winners at the Labia from Friday, September 24 to Sunday, October 3, 2010, and the 2010 award winners from Monday, October 4, to Thursday, October 7. Admission is free.

The 2010 Loerie winners will be announced on Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, at the Good Hope Centre in Cape Town, during the Loeries Festival Weekend. 

The Loerie Awards recognise, reward and foster creative excellence in the brand-communication industry. The awards represent the culmination of a year-round focus on creative inspiration, and help marketers, agencies and consumers appreciate the value of great ideas and fresh thinking. 

“The Loeries is a celebration of the creative thinking and innovation that drives the top brands in our region. The screenings of the showreels at the Labia are a great opportunity for the public to see the best of advertising and brand communication – without interruption!” says Andrew Human, CEO of The Loerie Awards.

Loeries Showreel Schedule

Free Admission

2009 Loeries winners:
Friday, September 24, 2010 – Sunday, October 3, 2010
13h00 – 14h40 at Labia on Orange (68 Orange Street, Gardens)
18h00 – 18h40 at Labia on Kloof (First Floor Lifestyle Centre, 50 Kloof Street, Gardens)

2010 Loeries winners:
Monday, October 4, 2010 – Thursday, October 7, 2010
13h00 – 13h40 at Labia on Orange (68 Orange Street, Gardens)
18h00 – 18h40 at Labia on Kloof (First Floor Lifestyle Centre, 50 Kloof Street, Gardens)

Phone 021 424 5927 or visit http://www.labia.co.za.

The Loeries incorporate a multitude of disciplines including traditional media such as TV, radio and print advertising, as well as fields such as the internet and mobile media, architecture and interior design, package and industrial design, experiential field marketing and integrated campaign. This year the Loeries introduced a new category called the Ubuntu Award, which has been put in place to recognise brands making a positive contribution to social and environmental change. 

The screenings will take place in conjunction with Creative Week Cape Town, an initiative driven by the Loeries and Creative Cape Town. This week-long showcase of the Mother City’s local creative talent will lead up to and culminate in the Loeries Festival Weekend (October 1-3). Local individuals and companies are urged to showcase their innovation by hosting demonstrations, presentations and functions throughout Cape Town from September 24 – October 3, 2010.  Register your event at http://www.creativeweekct.co.za. Information is also provided on the Loeries website (http://www.theloerieawards.co.za).

A packed Cape Town Stadium enjoys the first event since the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Photo courtesy spo0ky

Cape Town Stadium has received much praise for hosting a successful Premier Soccer League double-header on Friday, the first event hosted at the stadium since the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Some 45 000 spectators gathered to watch Orlando Pirates beat new Cape Town team, Vasco Da Gama, 2-1, followed by Ajax Cape Town’s 2-0 victory against Bloemfontein Celtic.

Mark Gleeson, a well-respected soccer commentator and writer, had a great time on Friday evening. According to his News 24 column: “It was some night in Cape Town, a big success and hopefully the start of many more Friday night double-header attractions. From being a spectator backwater just a few years ago, is Cape Town now challenging for the status of the nation’s football capital?”

Carlos Amato of Times Live wrote: “It was a crackling jamboree, punctuated by thunderous Mexican waves, and it’s clear that diski is cool in the Mother City.”

The next PSL match at the stadium will be on Friday, September 17, when Ajax Cape Town host Platinum Stars.

Anyone wishing to experience the magic of the stadium that hosted eight World Cup matches, can either take a tour or even better, attend a live match.

Read more about Cape Town Stadium fixtures for the rest of the year.

This photograph of Cape Point was taken from a helicopter by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member TyneWear-Rob.

Rob says: “Escaping to Africa from the lengthy dark northern British winter nights each year has become something we save assiduously for, no matter what. Anything to avoid a bout of Seasonal Moderately Morose Disorder.

“I’d always wanted a trip in a helicopter and I’d also once seen a fantastic photo taken from out at sea looking back onto Cape Point. My 40th birthday present to myself was to get to take that shot myself, too. The pilot was accommodating and did a double flypast over the lighthouses.

“While the full peninsula flight certainly isn’t cheap (or even lasting the advertised 60 minutes), I’d really recommend it as a once in a lifetime treat.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © TyneWear-Rob 2010

Enter our photo competition

Cape Town Tourism is running the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Winter Competition 2010, and wants your best winter photographs of Cape Town by September 15. There is a generous prize up for grabs, which includes R10 000 cash and a night for two at the five-star Greenways Hotel in Claremont. Visit the competition page to find out what you need to do to stand a chance of winning.

Visit our winter page to find out why Cape Town Winters are Cool.