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.

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.

Cape Town Tourism attended the demolition of the Athlone cooling towers on Sunday, August 22. The video below shows the towers before and after they were imploded for safety reasons, as well as the actual demolition.

You can subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay abreast of events in Cape Town.

Read our blog about the event.

ZoopyTV presenter, Caryn van der Coolwijk, recently accepted the challenge of abseiling from Table Mountain with Abseil Africa.

Below is the video about her experience.

A shot of the Athlone cooling towers being imploded, taken from Newlands Forest. Photo by Travis Robertson

Thousands of Cape Town residents and visitors braved the rain to watch the demolition of the two Athlone cooling towers today. The 50-year-old landmarks were imploded and reduced to dust in less than 30 seconds.

A few minutes before noon, Cape Town Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato dropped a lever to bring the gigantic structures to the ground.

Every man and his dog in the southern suburbs made their way out to Rhodes Memorial and Newlands Forest to find an elevated viewing point of the towers. Closer to the scene, some 4000 people were allowed onto the Clyde Pinelands soccer fields, while a few others were lucky enough to watch the implosion from a helicopter.

At Newlands Forest, hundreds of people congregated in a clearing and cheered loudly as the 80-metre high structures vanished in a cloud of dust, marked by a brief “boom” as more than 21 tons of concrete hit the ground. The dust hung about for several minutes as spectators left the scene satisfied with the entertainment.

Because the demolition actually happened a couple of minutes before the strike of noon when it was meant to happen, many were caught by surprise. Among those caught off guard were e.tv Presenter Andrew Barnes, who did a double take as they went down behind him, checking his watch as he did so.

On popular social networking site, Twitter, many complained about the timing being slightly out. Said Sello Leshope, aka @selloleshope, “What an anti-climax. Dan plato is tjatjarag. He pressed the buttom 5minutes too early..” « Premature ejacu-lition.”

Said radio station 702 presenter David O’Sullivan, aka @702David: “Which was best - the Athlone cooling towers collapsing, or Andrew Barnes of E-News’ incredulous look as they imploded early?”

The towers were a recognisable landmark and many people used them to get their bearings.

“Driving on the N2 toward the airport just won’t be the same,” said Bruce Stephenson, who lives in Newlands.

Trevor Cleaver said it was shame the weather wasn’t as good as it has been in recent weeks. “Still, we could see the towers pretty well when they went down and it was a different sort of weekend activity, so I’m glad I put up with the rain and came out to watch it happen. It was quite a historical day, really.”

The towers, which stood next to the N2 in the Pinelands area, had become a safety concern. The decision to implode them was taken in February.

Read more about the mixed reactions from Cape Town residents.

Below is a video of the demolition, posted on YouTube by RaeDuncan.

Spectators in Newlands Forest. Photo by Travis Robertson

The Athlone cooling towers. Photo by Tara Turkington

The Athlone cooling towers. Photo courtesy Danie van der Merwe

The demolition of the Athlone cooling towers has met with mixed reactions from Cape Town residents and visitors. The two iconic structures, which stood since 1960, were imploded at a few minutes before noon on Sunday, August 22, for safety reasons.

Well over 200 comments have been posted by fans of the I ♥ Cape Town group on Facebook, who have different opinions about the 80-metre-high structures. Some felt the towers had been an eyesore and had emitted an unpleasant odour, while others saw them as part of Cape Town’s heritage and found them a useful landmark.

Lorraine Sadowsky Smith is one of many Capetonians with fond memories of the towers: “How sad! When I was growing up we looked at them from our back ‘stoep’ to see which direction the wind was blowing [in],” she wrote.

Joan Apthorp saw it differently. She wrote: “About time! They’ve been a monstrous eyesore for far too long.”

“These twin icons will be missed (if only for that not-too-pleasant whiff one gets when whizzing past on the N2!),” wrote Linford Andrews.

You can e-mail your photographs of the implosion to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The famous Athlone cooling towers, which will be imploded at noon on Sunday. Photo courtesy Damien du Toit

The biggest event in Cape Town this weekend will be the demolition of the two Athlone cooling towers at noon on Sunday.

The fifty-year-old towers, which are 80 metres high, will be reduced to dust in a matter of around 10 seconds. The City of Cape Town will allow up to 4 000 people to watch the implosion from the Clyde Pinelands soccer field, but will close the area once capacity is reached. Other suggested viewing points include the top of Table Mountain (accessed via Table Mountain Cableway), Table Mountain National Park, Rhodes Memorial and the University Of Cape Town.

Other Cape Town highlights for this weekend include:

Symphonic Rocks

What: Top South African musicians, including Macstanley, Watershed, Louise Carver, Just Jinjer, Gang of Instrumentals and aKING will join a 65-piece symphony orchestra for the Symphonic Rocks concert at the GrandWest Casino in Cape Town on Saturday night. Read more about Symphonic Rocks.
Where: Grand Arena at GrandWest Casino
When: Saturday, August 21, starting at 20h00
Tickets: R150, available from Computicket

The Alphen Antiques and Collectables Fair

What: According to entertainment guide The Next 48 hours “a variety of items including jewellery, glass, ceramics, silver, toys, books, and paintings will be on sale.”
Where: Alphen Centre, opposite Constantia Village, Constantia
When: Sunday, August 22, from 10h00 until 16h00
Contact: +27 (0)84 626 7499

Encounters Film Festival

What: Organisers say: “It’s all about documentaries now for the next 17 days, so sit back and laugh, be provoked, excited, challenged and moved … and then come back for more!” Read our event entry for the Encounters Film Festival.
Where: The V&A Waterfront
When: Daily events from August 20 – 29
Cost: R39
Contact: +27 (0)86 124 6362

The Athlone cooling towers. Photo courtesy Wayan Vota

The two 80-metre-high Athlone cooling towers, which are located next to the N2 freeway in the Pinelands area of Cape Town, will be demolished at noon on Sunday, August 22. As a result, the N2 between Black River Parkway and Vanguard Drive will be closed from 11h00 until 13h00.

Anyone travelling between Cape Town International Airport and the city centre needs to bear in mind that they will be diverted and should allow a lot more time for travel than usual.

According to the City of Cape Town website: “Motorists leaving the city centre are advised to use the N1 instead of the N2. Officers will redirect motorists traveling on the N2 outbound onto the M5 north, from which point they can access the N1 and travel back to the N2 via Vanguard Drive.

“Officers from the city’s Law Enforcement Services, Metro Police, city and provincial Traffic Services as well as the South African Police Force (SAPF) will be deployed to ensure public safety, enforce road closures and traffic rules, and redirect motorists to alternative routes.”

The website states that between 11h00 and 14h00, all trains on the Kapteinsklip Line will be rerouted to operate via the Maitland link between Salt River and Mutua. Read more advice from the City of Cape Town website and consult Cape Town Tourism’s maps and info page.

There will be a 300-metre exclusion zone around the towers into which no members of the public will be allowed. Police will not allow motorists to stop on nearby roads or bridges.

The City of Cape Town will allow a maximum of 4 000 people access to the Clyde Pinelands soccer field to watch the demolition free of charge, but will close the area once capacity is reached.

Other suggested viewing points include the top of Table Mountain (accessed via Table Mountain Cableway), Table Mountain National Park, Rhodes Memorial and the University Of Cape Town.

Work on these towers began in the late 1950s, but after concrete stabilising rings fell from one of the towers in February of this year, engineers felt it safest if they were demolished.

Kombat Fudge are getting ready to rock your socks off on August 5. Photo courtesy Kombat Fudge

Cape Town band Kombat Fudge are launching their brand new full-length studio album, “The Wonderful Adventures of Kombat Fudge”, on August 5 at Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street. Zula is the perfect venue for these “funksters”, whose upbeat grooves, funky basslines and guitar riffs, vocal harmonies and relentless rock ‘n roll percussion, get hips swaying every time.

Band members Zack Vincent (guitar and vocals), Peter Murray (bass and vocals) and Matt Catto (drums and vocals) are proud Capetonians and they know just how to keep the winter blues at bay – with thumping beats and energetic performances.

“The Wonderful Adventures of Kombat Fudge” is the band’s first full 12-track product. It was recorded, mixed and produced by Kombat Fudge and South African Music Award-winning producer and sound engineer Paris Zennios.

Kombat Fudge have paid their dues on the local music scene and have played most of the major festivals in South Africa, including Splashy Fen, Oppikoppi and Woodstock SA.

There’ll be lots of dancing at Zula next Thursday – the venue is in the heart of Cape Town’s nightlife scene and known for parties that start late and carry on until the wee hours – so bring your dancing shoes and prepare to be seriously entertained.

Entry costs R30 at the door (that’s cheap!) and CDs are selling at just R100.

Attending a live gig at Zula Sound Bar is one of the quintessential Cape Town experiences. Frequented by locals-in-the-know as well as out-of-towners, when you visit Zula you’ll find out exactly what it is that makes Cape Town winters so cool ... That’s besides the great events, the winter restaurant specials, adventure activities and our groovy winter photography competition, of course.

Visit the band’s website here.

A brand new sound recording studio, San Sound Records, was officially launched at !Khwa ttu San Education and Culture Centre on July 17 near Yzerfontein on the West Coast. The festive event was filled with music, laughter and a few surprises, including an interactive game where the audience became the stars of the evening, recording the studio’s first song.

!Khwa ttu, less than an hour’s drive on the R27 from Cape Town, restores and displays items of San heritage, culture, folklore, visual arts, cosmology and languages in an effort to educate the general public about the world of the San. They also provide training to the San themselves in literacy, entrepreneurship, tourism, health issues, community development, craft production and marketing, and gender awareness.

Massi Jabbari, who worked as a volunteer at !Khwa ttu through weltwärts, the volunteer-support programme run by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, is the man behind San Sound Records. With the help of his friends at !Khwa ttu, he developed a pristine sound recording studio from scratch in under six weeks.

But why a recording studio? “In the life of the San, dancing and singing play a very important role,” says Jabbari. “It’s a meaningful free-time activity because people here don’t have much to do, especially on weekends when they’d like to go out but can’t because they don’t have much money or easy access to transport.”

Jabbari’s dream took an impressively short time to come true. About five months ago, he had the idea of creating a recording studio. The lack of resources in the music field at !Khwa ttu made a significant impression on him, and he decided to put his experience in the industry to good use.

CEO of !Khwa ttu San Education and Culture Centre Michael Daiber (left) thanks Massi Jabbari (right) for his dedication and hard work at the launch of San Sound Records

He started writing letters to his friends and family in Germany, and enlisted the help of fellow German and !Khwa ttu volunteer, Manu Nicklaus, who also spread the call for funds among his acquaintances. “Soon I got some money together and bought the electrical equipment like loudspeakers and cables, which I found mostly on Gumtree.” 

Jabbari and Nicklaus managed to raise R13 000 and German audio equipment manufacturer Musikhaus Thomann donated a microphone and headphones worth about R2 000.

They enlisted the help of four San community kids – Riven Dala, Mukose Kabembe, Andre Antonio and Stefans Paolo – for the building process. The group would work late into the night but, says Jabbari, “for them it wasn’t work anymore. They were helping me voluntarily because a dream of theirs was coming true. We had a lot of fun and they even learned some do-it-yourself skills.”

Jabbari is very optimistic about the long-term benefits of a project like this. “The kids will feel that they’ve achieved something in life; from the first beat to the lyrics and finally the finished songs, [recording] is a long process. To finish your own song is a big success and it enhances your confidence.”

The studio will be open to anyone who is interested in recording, and Jabbari envisions it as a space for the youth. “I don’t want the studio to become a place where !Khwa ttu makes a profit, but I wouldn’t say that there won’t be a fee attached,” he says. “All the money we may get will mainly go toward improving the quality of the studio.”

He continues: “It would be great if the kids from Darling, Yzerfontein, Cape Town or anywhere else could have the chance to record their songs here. Then, this would go beyond just doing music. It could become a youth centre where the San can make friends with the outside world.”