Waterside Action Lined Up for Durban Port Festival:
The Durban Port Festival is a celebration of the country’s busiest commercial port. Photo: Philip Wilson
From 09 to 10 September, Durbanites of all ages will have the opportunity to enjoy a range of fun and educational landside and waterside activities lined up as part of the Durban Port Festival 2017.
Durban Port Manager, Moshe Motlohi, said: “The primary goal of our port festivals is to provide marine ‘edu-tainment’ for our future generations.”
The two-day festival is part of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) efforts to bring communities closer to the ports, creating ‘Smart People’s Ports’ that foster community engagement, tourism, leisure, recreation, and career and business opportunities.
The range of waterside activities to be showcased at the Durban Port Festival include:
Fishing Competition:
Avid fishermen are in for a treat as the Durban Port Festival will be hosting a fishing competition between 6am to 1pm on Saturday 09 September at the North Pier. The competition will be run in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Subsistence Fishermen’s Forum (KZNSFF).
Jet Ski Demonstration:
Yamaha will stage a Jet Ski demonstration on both days at 2pm.
Cardboard Boat Race
Students from the Durban University of Technology have designed cardboard boats that will participate in a Cardboard Boat Race on Saturday 09 September from 12:30pm in the vicinity of the yacht mole. Boats made entirely of cardboard will race through the waters to determine the ultimate winner.
Tug Boat Display
On Saturday and Sunday, the area will come alive with roaring diesels and blaring air horns when the Port of Durban’s tug boats put on a ‘tug dance’.
Yacht Sail-Past
On Sunday at 11:30am local yacht clubs will showcase their yachts in a sail-past to open the yachting season.
Landside entertainment
Much will be happening away from the water as well, throughout the festival. There will be live entertainment on the main festival stage behind Royal Natal Yacht Club, with Durban-born rapper, songwriter and record producer Nasty C set to take centre stage on Saturday. Afro-soul sensation, Amanda Black, headlines Sunday’s festivities, with others such as DJ Thukzin and DJ Nivaadh Singh rocking the decks in between.
There will be a kids zone with fun and games for children of all ages, including jumping castles, zorb balls and special characters to entertain.
Local traders will also showcase their arts and crafts, fashion and food and beverages.
Gagasi FM will be broadcasting live with jocks Collen Zondo, Mario Munday, Nomalanga Shozi and DJ Heazy also be rocking the main stage behind Royal Natal Yacht Club.
Important information
Tickets are R30 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 16, available through Computicket or at the gates.
Attendees are encouraged to take along their camp chairs and blankets, however picnic baskets, cooler boxes, umbrellas, gazebos and braais are prohibited.
No outside beverages, alcohol or weapons will be permitted through the security checkpoints.
There will be food and beverages on sale at the festival as well as an arts and crafts market.
Watch the press and social media for further details. The Durban Port Festival’s website can be found at www.portfestival.co.za or follow #DurbanPortFestival and #experienceourport on social media for further details. TNPA can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as @TransnetNPA.
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