Minstrels will turn Cape Town into a massive carnival as the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade takes place.
|||Cape Town - A total of 40 000 minstrels from 75 troupes will turn parts of the Cape Town city centre into a massive carnival on Saturday as the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar street parade takes place.
The parade will start in Keizersgracht Street in Zonnebloem at noon and is expected to reach its end-point, the intersection of Rose and Castle Streets in the Bo-Kaap, at 8pm. Thousands of Capetonians and visitors are expected to line the route.
While the parade usually takes place on January 2, the city was asked by minstrel associations that it be moved to Saturday so more people could attend.
From 10am to noon, before the official start of the parade, musicians will entertain the crowds on the Grand Parade. After mayor Patricia de Lille officially opens the event at noon, the troupes, sporting colourful outfits, bowties and umbrellas, will start marching and dancing from Keizersgracht along Darling Street, supported by bands.
They will turn left into Adderley Street and right into Wale Street before marching to the Bo-Kaap. According to the SA Weather Service, Cape Town is expected to be partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-20s with a wind of roughly 10 knots.
The city has said that no parking would be permitted on Keizersgracht, Darling, Adderley, Wale and Rose streets until 11pm on Saturday.
The carnival dates back to the days of the Cape Colony when January 2 was a free day for slaves. - Weekend Argus