The Cape Town Carnival - A celebration of dance and creativity

Born out of a vision to have a street spectacular in Cape Town, which measures up to the standard and quality of other great Carnivals in the world, the Cape Town Carnival started with a pilot in 2010, when 2 500 community costumed performers took to the streets of Cape Town in song and dance in a riot of colour.
Behind this event was hours of preparation in rehearsal, costume-making, music production and float-building. It enabled a torrent of local talent to strut the streets and for a huge audience to enjoy all that the Carnival has to offer.
What we believed then and what we see now, after the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was the ability of events such as this to being about real and significant social cohesion and sense of community belonging.
The participants of the Carnival are drawn from more than 23 local communities from the Cape Town Metro and included people from every walk of life.
Based on lessons learnt during last year’s pilot Carnival in Long St, the 2011 Carnival will see the launch of a much grander Carnival experience. It will have all the glamour and sensuality of Rio but with a distinctive African beat.

What to expect?
The Carnival Parade will start at 8.30pm on the Saturday March 19 and proceed down the “Carnival Corridor” in Long Street, through the purpose-built gateway that will be ablaze with colour, lights, lasers and dancers, welcoming all to the Carnival.
150 Harley-Davidsons will precede the event, heralding the grand entrance of nine spectacular floats and over 2 000 dancers in elaborate and colourful costumes. Pulsating music from the floats will provide the rhythm for the dancers, and spotlights, big screens and giant puppets will add to the magical atmosphere.
As the last float passes through the purpose-built exit at the top end of the carnival corridor, DJ Fresh will turn up the beat and the thousands of revellers will party the night away in a vibrant street party.

Arrive early Strategy
Because of a significantly scaled-up media strategy, the event organisers are expecting revellers to respond to the parade in very large numbers and for this reason a special FanJol will be set up in Greenmarket Square to accommodate early spectators. A large screen, a themed bar and food vendors will be set up for the Stormers vs Bulls Super 15 rugby match. Special late night trains are being finalised with Metrorail to ensure that revellers can enjoy the party without running foul of the law.

For accommodation or shuttle contact us at
www.riverlodge.co.za
Tel. Office +27 (0) 21 448 0526
Mobile +27 (0) 82 515 0407