The best 12 hours of the year, in all of its diversity, are back. The annual Richmond Hill Street Music Festival a partnership of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and the Alliance Française will happen on Saturday 2 September. After a highly appreciated event in 2022 the street festival will feature even more of the best musical and creative arts talents in the Municipality.
Director Guillaume Favier Nirere from Alliance Française, is excited to be able to build on the unique vibe of the day. “The event celebrates the cultural vibrancy of the traditional “Fête de la Musique”, with the specific aim to combine a contemporary French tradition with the renowned South African diversity. It allows musicians and members of the public to interact on a social level. It is also an opportunity for the families of Nelson Mandela Bay to discover new
artists and various other creative stalls and have a fun day together.”
He assured attendees that all of this, of course, will be enhanced by retaining the essence of the Festival as a celebratory French affair. “The event wouldn’t be complete without a ‘French Village’ where festival-goers can discover typically French delights and experiences.”
MMC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Councillor Bassie Kamana, recalls the wonderful vibe of 2022. “The Festival was an undoubted success and the potential to grow is significant. As the leaders of the Metro we were pleased to see that the promotion of diversity was visible in the make-up of the vendors, performers, artists and in the mix of attendees who enjoyed a day that featured harmony, enjoyment and spending 12 hours as one community in Nelson Mandela Bay. We are delighted to witness the hard work put in by SRAC officials who continue through strategic safe and successful events such as the Richmond Hill Street Music Festival place the City on the map as a destination of choice ” The festival will feature local artists and bands on two stages, as well as food trucks, craft stands, busker mini stages, school choirs, creative art features and
special offers from the restaurants in the area. The pedestrianised area will feature new crowd pleasers without changing the authentic vibe of the festival.
The concept of Diversity Lane will again be featured as a shop window to efforts that create more nowhere-else offerings for Nelson Mandela Bay. This initiative drives the creation of authentic theming for music, cooking and the creative arts. These are aimed at making the Metro more competitive by differentiating its tourism offerings from those in the rest of the country. Discover Mandela Bay’s Shaun van Eck feels that their partnership with the festival will build opportunities for smaller community tourism businesses. “We really appreciate
that through the event the organisers have ensured the festival makes an impact on small businesses and communities from the broader Nelson Mandela Bay areas.” He believes that the vibe created last year was what international visitors hoped to experience during their trips.
Festival organiser, Bev van Eck, values the wonderful partnership that has allowed the essence of the festival to develop and deliver 12 hours of world- class memories. “We once again anticipate a solid partnership between the Alliance Française as the event owner, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality as a major sponsor, and Magnetic Storm as our event organiser. The difference-maker in 2022 was the contributions to the partnership by the stall holders, restaurants, sponsors, musicians, locals and the media. I am confident that the result will once again be an authentic event that will attract our locals
while growing it into a national attraction.”
The Richmond Hill Street Music Festival takes place on Saturday 2 September in Stanley and Mackay Streets from 10am to 10pm. Last year’s festival went off without incident. The organisers have retained and increased the numbers of the expert event security force from 2022 to guard against any fun spoilers at the festival.
NMB Communications
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