MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

More like a Drop AGAIN and NOT a Splash

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Let’s look very critically at what is billed as Nelson Mandela Bay, Gqeberha’s premier Easter Weekend Festival – the Splash Festival.

It is supposed to be one that brings tourists, families and residents together. It is geared up to attract tourists to bring their cash, stay in our city, enjoy our beacges and attractions and leave as much of their cash behind as we can wrest out of their sweaty paws.

That cash is what drives our local economy – it comes from OUTSIDE of our circle and is used to drive our local economy.

And, what do we do every single year?

We LAUNCH the Splash Festival in the very same week leading up to Easter with a hastily thrown together programme and media launch in the hope that we can catch a few people undecided about where to spend their Easter Weekend.

What is even more embarrassing is that we had TWO YEARS to plant and promote this year’s Splash Festival and we couldn’t even do that – a farging disgrace.

And the RESULT – more people laughing at our lack of planning and foresight and plain waste of money year after year.

I see NO post Splash Festival roundup, I see NO economic benefit research, I see NO tourists coming to Gqeberha SOLELY because of the Splash Festival.

Consider this – when YOU plan a holiday for your family is it a spur of the moment decision or is it a well considered, researched decision based on available information?

I am willing to bet a small protuberance that no-one with a family decides at the drop of a hat to travel to Gqeberha from Johannesburg just because the Splash Festival is advertised on the Tuesday before the event.

For the love of our City and financial well-being of our residents can we please ask the ‘powers that be’ to do ONE THING RIGHT starting on Tuesday next week? “Begin publicising the 2023 Splash Festival IMMEDIATELY after the 2022 one WITH firm bookings of artists, events, stalls, sports activities and the like guaranteed to attract tourists from other provinces and countries!”

Splash Festival 2023

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality released THIS Media Statement TODAY:

After two years of not being able to host the flagship Nelson Mandela Bay Splash Festival, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is ready and excited to welcome thousands of visitors for the 30th Edition of the Festival over the Easter Weekend.

The City will deliver a revitalised event with food, music and sport taking centre stage. The Splash Festival was last held in 2019 due to the COVID-19 regulations.

The four-day action packed family festival encompasses the core elements that have made Splash Festival a major event on the NMB calendar for the past 30 years, with new events and content added to the festival, to ensure that the festival stays relevant.

During the media launch at the Gqeberha City Hall on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, NMBM Executive Mayor Cllr Eugene Johnson said: “This year visitors to the Splash Festival will be thrilled by new attractions in the form of food tents and trucks and wine pairings. Regular attractions which have proven to be popular with festival goers such as watersports, beach volleyball, crafts and stalls will also be part of this year’s event. We are excited by what Splash has to offer this year. We are sure that our residents and visitors will create memorable and special moments. Stage entertainment, food stalls, crafters and watersports will be forming part of this year’s programme.”

The Mayor said music lovers can expect to be entertained by the NMB’s very own Ami Faku, Early B and Ruhan Du Toit who will be sharing the stage with over 40 local and national artists and performers.

All the events are free entry to the public however on a first-come, first serve basis and all the details are available on www.nmbsplash.co.za.

In a major change this year, the festival will be split over two sites, with King’s Beach hosting the entertainment and food attractions and the watersports and beach volleyball staying at Hobie Beach.

“By moving the festival to King’s Beach, the festival organisers will be able to fence off the festival and have better control of access to the attractions. It will also mean extra parking for festival goers and will help to alleviate traffic congestion in Summerstrand. For the first time, we will be able to manage the sale of alcohol in the controlled and highly managed environments of a beer garden and wine tent,” added Mayor Johnson.

The programme and content have also been designed to appeal to a wide demographic, representative of the citizens of the greater Nelson Mandela Bay and to attract visitors from out of town to the Splash Festival and, by extension, the region. As the second largest Easter Festival in South Africa, the festival boasts over 120 stalls including: original crafts and an amazing array of food stalls for all tastes.

NMBM Acting Executive Director for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Dr Kithi Ngesi said that festival goers would be spoilt for choice.

“We are excited to present the new food court in association with Gqeberha’s iconic Baakens Food Truck Funday. The food court will feature a bigger canopy over the area, with a stage and performances. We have partnered with Baakens to bring a new variety of food stalls to Splash Festival 2022 – 2024. The range will include: vegetarian, halal, kosher and vegan options. All food vendors are vetted to ensure compliance with R638 regulations. We will still make most of the slots available to the regular food vendors who have been severely impacted by the Disaster Management Act restrictions on this industry. In addition we will also be having a comedy show where Jason Goliath will be the headlining act supported by our local comedians,” she said, adding that headline Chefs Reuben Riffel, and Pete Goffe-Wood were part of this year’s programme.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.