THE popular Jive Boland Summer Festival will be held this weekend, from 1 to 3 April, at the Dal Josaphat Stadium in Paarl.
On this 12th anniversary of the festival, the Paarl Muslim Jamaah (PMJ) promises an exciting event.
Every year the festival, a fundraising event, attracts more than 20 000 people from throughout Drakenstein which includes areas such as Paarl, Wellington, Saron, Gouda and Hermon.
The festival also draws large crowds from Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Strand. On Sunday, buses will depart from Cape Town to Paarl.
The official opening will be on the Friday evening with guest speakers including Drakenstein mayor Charmaine Manuel.
In her opening address at last year’s festival, the mayor said it was a great pleasure for the Drakenstein Municipality to be associated with events which promote a family atmosphere, “where people of all ages gather to enjoy themselves in a crime-free environment.”
The Boland Summer Festival has secured its place on the Boland Festival Calendar.
An organiser, Muhammad Patel, said that every year the festival becomes more and more challenging.
“We have to put in a lot of work, ideas and organising to ensure that we attract more and more people,” he said.
Cricket fans need not worry about missing out on the finals, as a DSTV big screen will be at the festival.
This year the fun activities will include drifting. Cars participating will be rear wheel drive like BMW’s, Mazda RX7, Nissan 200 SX’s and Nissan Skylines.
This is a popular and growing motor sport which attracts a huge following all over the country. Measures will be put in place to ensure the public’s safety.
For the more adventurous and young at heart, why not thrill yourself by taking a ride in one of the cars in the Suicide Ridez hosted by the popular Dis Drift Squad.
More new events are a boxing tournament and kickboxing for all age groups and stick fighting which will surely thrill young and old.
A number of sports matches (cricket, rugby and soccer) will be played over the weekend including Vineyards Rugby Club against Simondium Rugby Club. There will be great prizes for the winning teams.
A Fun Run will take place on Sunday morning and individuals, groups and clubs are most welcome to join. On Saturday morning there will be a parade of floats from the Lapperts Street Mosque to the stadium.
At the festival grounds there will be fun rides for all ages, an Islamic fashion show, and cake-baking and dessert-making competitions.
The PMJ can also proudly boast a crime free festival: “Thousands of people attend the festival every year, and we must ensure their safety. We want people to enjoy themselves in an environment free from crime and secured parking areas,” said PMJ official, Abdul Jabbaar Mookadam.
A local neighbourhood watch committee will be on duty, with the local police as well as the fire and traffic departments.
A camping site with ablution facilities and security will be available to stallholders and festival-goers who would like to stay over for the weekend. The cost of the camping site is R200 for Friday and Saturday nights.
To register for any sport, contact Shareefa Moerat at 072-800-9489.
