Tag Archives: party
2012 Cape Town Pride festival
The Pride festival will move from venue to venue each day from 2 until 11 March and funds raised at the event will be donated to the Pride Shelter Trust, an organisation that helps gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people by providing them with short-term shelter in times of crisis.
If you would like to support the initiative, or if you're simply keen on 10 days of fun, check out the itinerary, grab a friend, and have some fun!
Moonstruck 2012 at Clifton 4th beach
In case you're wondering, Moonstruck isn't only about the awesomeness of a huge beach party. The event is run to raise money for the National Sea Rescue Institute, better known as the NSRI. I've written about the work that the NSRI do a couple of times - read more about the organisation, and how you can help, here and here.
I'll post a few more photos tomorrow, but right now it feels like my eyelids are flapping around my knees and it's become apparent to me that it's probably time call it a night. 'Night folks! :)
Where in the world is Phileas Fogg?
Even though I was dressed well enough, I still felt somewhat underdressed in comparison to many of the other party-goers who had dressed in perfect old-English style. Something that caught my eye was The Little Hattery's table where those who felt slightly under-dressed could spruce up their look with hats and head accessories. Don't you think this one would have suited me just perfectly? ;)
The Global Party – a charity event
The Fez is renowned for its performers - so over the next day or two I'll bring you more photos to give you a taste of what happened at the party. For now, check out the couple of photos below!
Breathing space
So it was a pleasant surprise when we arrived at the Castle and found that there were several different areas set up as part of the party. We spent the evening moving from room to room: from the entrance area with its small bar, to the main dance floor, to the chill room, to the sophisticated and spacious bar area upstairs, to another chill room, to the media centre, to the more crowded bar downstairs, back to the dance floor, and so on and so on.
I loved the fact that we could spend a few minutes on the dance floor, and then go upstairs to a chill room where we could still hear the music, but could actually sit down and talk. Now, if only all parties could be like this...
Memories of the Football World Cup
It took an hour or two for our foreign friends to warm up sufficiently, but once they did they ruled the dance floor and ignited a party with an atmosphere that reminded us of the month-long party that erupted when the world came to visit us last year for the Football World Cup. I hope this party sent our group of foreign visitors back home with memories that'll last a life time.
Rock on Mexico!
Detroit’s DJ Carl Craig at J&B’s Start a Party
Carl started his set after Culoe de Song ended off in spectacular style. Even though I'm not a regular listener of electronica/techno music, I immediately picked up that Carl's style was different. I've just read a little about him and have found out, in fact, that the thing that makes his style different from other Detroid-based artists is that he often remixes worldbeat and jazz music into his techno. Interesting, hey?
Having been in the business for about 22 years, it's clear that Carl's a far more seasoned muso. What was cool about his performance was that he interacted with the crowd on the dance floor far more than his peers - he clearly got into the party vibe; see the second photo below.
Carl Craig was the last of the DJs that we saw performing at J&B's Start a Party. Even though he was great and interacted with the crowd well, in terms of musical performance Monique Pascall, Culoe de Song, and Carl Craig were pretty much on par - or this is at least what my untrained ear tells me. :)
Culoe and the drums of Africa at J&B’s Start a Party
Don't be confused by the photo - that's not Culoe - this is Culoe. The man in the photo was one of two drummers who added the distinctive African sound to Culoe's electronic music. I'm not sure if this applies only to us who've grown up in Africa, but African drums always seem to awaken the spirit of African in us, it's like we're drawn to the sound, to the beat, by some innate force. They're awesome. :)
Culoe's set was by earwitness accounts brilliant - and I guess that's to be expected. He's about 20 years old now, but at the age of 18 he was selected to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona, and subsequent to that was asked to submit a mix Resident Advisor - the world's premier online electronic music magazine. Isn't that something - especially for an 18-year-old?!
- Coloe de Song
Monique Pascall – the real party-starter
We arrived at the castle for J&B's Start a Party at around 9pm which is just about the right time to start getting a party going, wouldn't you say?
As we walked into the venue, we were greeted by the electronic sounds of the lovely Monique Pascall - which her bio refers to as being "Minimal and Techno with tough, dirty, progressive, rolling bass lines". Now, I'm not a huge techno/electronica geek, but on reflection and after critically listening to her tracks on sShadoworkss I'd say that the description is pretty accurate, and well deserved.
The most difficult time for a DJ to perform is at the start of a party, when everyone's still a little tense from the day and has had just a little too little alcohol to relax the inhibitions. Up for the challenge, Monique picked up the beat and got the party started, enticing the first few party-starters onto the dance floor. By the time she handed over the reigns to Culoe de Song, the party was pretty much tripping.
In case you're wondering who the guy in the photo below is, that's Ivan Turanjanin, a DJ who's pretty much synonymous with Fiction nightclub's Killer Robot.
Mirrorball Man! He knows how to start a party.
Mirrorball Man loves parties, hates drunk party-spoilers, loves revelers, hates drink drivers, and loves conga-lines! Mirrorball Man and his men-of-yellow have a simple philosophy: don't drink too much alcohol, drink lots of water, and don't freegin' drink and drive - ever.
Keeping by Mirrorball Man's philosophy meant that we could actually remember every detail of the party. We remember the awesome Joburg peeps that we met, the wild Mexicans who raged on the dance floor, the beautifully-spoken French men who always make Kerry-Anne's knees wobbly, and even Bogun, the crazy and sometimes confused Korean (who spoke no English) in the top left of the photo. :)
Don't you think it's kinda odd for J&B to create a "responsible drinker" like Mirrorball Man? Naa, I didn't think so - I guess you can see the logic in it: live to party another day (with J&B of course). ;)
What made J&B’s Start a Party awesome
As you may have gathered from my articles on Friday and Saturday, Kerry-Anne and I joined about 350 other people at the Castle of Good Hope for J&B's annual Start a Party party.
Given the title of this article (and if you were actually at the event) you're probably wondering why I posted a photo of an ice box with water when I could have posted a photo of the dance floor, bars, or DJs. If so, well then hang ten - I'll get to the party in the next post. This post is about the little extras that made Start a Party so memorable.
The first thing was that J&B made sure that there was always ice-cold water available, free of charge. Notice the text engraved in the ice pictured below? "Refresh, rehydrate, and remember the party." In addition to encouraging party-starters to drink plenty of water, they provided everyone with only 5 free coupons for mixes and cocktails (to discourage over-indulging). And, since 5 drinks would set everyone except perhaps Chuck Norris over the limit, J&B provided a free taxi service to anyone who wanted to make use of it.
The theme of the party was "party of the future", which brings me to the second thing that was awesome about the event. The halls and rooms of the Castle were filled with coloured lights. Bright-green lasers from along the floating stage cut through the smoke bouncing against mirror balls - and even mirrorball man on occasion! J&B had even arranged digital photo stations that took snaps of our faces, which were later used on huge touch-screens to bring life to our virtual cyber-party characters.
There were many more ancillary aspects that made the party different, and worth remembering; however, if I were to write about them all I fear that I'd eventually fall asleep on top of my laptop and awake with a keyboard embossed on my forehead. So, I'll leave it at that for now. But stand by, I'll post a couple more photos soon!
Lights, cameras, and a J&B party-starter
We were pretty excited about the party, but are now even more so after hearing about the video mapping, LED dancers, video dance floor, and floating stage (although, I'm not sure where the stage will be floating - it's not like the castle is filled with water!).
Any party needs an awesome DJ - and we'll have four of them tonight. The well-known Detroit-based DJ, Carl Craig will be headlining the party, with backup from South Africa's Monique Pascal, Culoe de Song and Ivan Turanjanin.
Tonight's J&B Start a Party is going to be legendary - over the next day or two I'll share a few stories and photos from the event; but right now, I think it's about time to start suiting-up for the big gig. :)
About to Start a Party with J&B
From what I've seen and read, tomorrow's J&B Start a Party party at the castle could be the biggest, most energetic and extravagant party that Cape Town has ever seen. Through some good fortune, Kerry-Anne and I were invited to the party. We'll driven from the Pepper Club hotel to the Castle; we'll be forced to party hard (how terrible); and then Road Trip will drive us back home in the early hours of the morning (assuming we've partied too much ;) )! Doesn't it sound awesome?!
I took this photo of a mixologist preparing one of the J&B cocktails designed especially for the party tomorrow. This one, called Ellicious, is made from J&B whisky (obviously!), peach schnapps, mango puree, lime juice, and pineapple juice. Doesn't that sound like one crazy-hardcore drink?
The Flamjangled Tea Party
To quote from their website, The Flamjangled Tea Party brings to the winelands of Durbanville "a collection of madcap melody-makers, artists flamboyant, syrupy tea-ladies, freakish party animals, cross-dressing gorilla’s, candy-floss cowgirls, rooibos sippen diva’s, greased-up rockers, disco deviants" and many more wonderfully weird (and some times magical) people. In my mind it's a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Johnny Depp's version), with a bit of a Woodstock-like music festival tacked on just for fun. Doesn't it sound wonderful?
For a little more insight into what goes on at this kind of tea party - have a peek at the photos taken at the one held earlier this year.
2010 Football World Cup draw celebrations in Long Street, Cape Town
The road got so crowded that we could hardly move at times, and the police eventually closed the gates to prevent any more people from entering Long Street. Apparently there were in excess of 120,000 people in the street! Still, everybody was having fun and it seemed there were smiles permanently etched on most people's faces.
From early afternoon, the stage (which was way up ahead of us) had hosted popular bands and entertainers; and all evening we had stilt-walkers, huge puppets walking over the crowd, and topless dancers keeping us entertained. (Nah, I'm kidding about the topless dancers. ;) ).
The crowd quietened down as the live telecast of the final draw started playing, and huge cheers erupted each time one of our national heroes was introduced. There was a palpable sense of collective pride at what South Africa and its people have managed to achieve. All in all, the atmosphere was fantastic - a taste of what visitors can expect to experience during next year's World Cup.
Take a look at our photo album for more shots from the Long Street party.
Rocking the Daisies 2009
Although the festival stretched from early on Friday to Sunday afternoon, I only managed to go along for Saturday. Many people spent time swimming in the dam (practically right next to the main stage), while others watched the bands, some were entertained by comedy shows, and others spent time listening to DJ mixes.
My summarised review of the event is:
1. Well-organised
2. Great music
3. Fun environment
4. Sufficient facilities
5. Great food stalls
6. Good entertainment
7. Good and easy parking
8. Great camping site
9. Clean and tidy
I'm definitely going to have to go along to RTD 2010 - this one was an absolute jol (pronounced "jawl", which is South African slang for "freekin' awesome"). :) If you're thinking of coming to South Africa next year, but don't want to come during the World Cup, why not time your trip to coincide with RTD? We'll see you there.
I'm still busy processing and uploading photos to our photo album, but in the meantime check out what's there already.