MUSIC: White Mountain Folk Festival

IF you want to get away from it all and chill out in a superb mountain setting while listening to acoustic performances by some of the country’s top artists, then look no further than the annual White Mountain Folk Festival.

Running from 24 to 27 September, this intimate, family-friendly festival is held at White Mountain Lodge near Giant’s Castle in the beautiful Central Drakensberg region of KwaZulu-Natal, only 34km from Estcourt on tarred roads and 200km from Durban.

On offer is a four-day programme of laid-back acoustic music, as well as a wide choice of outdoor leisure activities, arts and crafts, a beer market and assorted food stalls. Festival-goers can also make full use of the lodge’s facilities, including a restaurant, pub, games room, swimming pool and satellite TV.

Check out the following video of last year's festival to get a good idea of what you can expect...

White Mountain Festival 2008

How much are the tickets? I'm keen! (I hear you shout). Early Bird tickets are now on sale at Computicket for just R350, which is a saving of R150 on the gate price. This offer is limited to 500 tickets only, so make sure you get in early. Children under 12 pay R50. The price includes camping in the newly graded and grassed festival campsite overlooking the dam.

White Mountain

If you’ve ever been to Splashy Fen before, the White Mountain Festival is basically a smaller, more acoustic-sounding version. However, because of it smaller numbers, it is far more organised, controlled and comfortable – making the whole outdoor experience that much more enjoyable.

Now in its fourth year, White Mountain has quickly become a firm favourite on the events calendar and is perfectly timed to coincide with Heritage Day and the start of the school holidays. The line-up is currently being finalised and will be announced shortly.

For more information, visit www.whitemountain.co.za
or contact Pedro at 082 892 6176.

Click here to see the 2009 video:
White Mountain Folk Fest 2009

** More Promotions and Events **

SPLASHY FEN VIDEOS: Splashy’s 20th birthday jam

THE 20th Splashy Fen came and went in a drum-beat and proved to be one of the best ones yet. A diverse crowd of about 9000 people descended on the Ferraz farm in Underberg for five days of good South African music and festivities.

The crowd of festival goers ranged from metal-studded Goths to colourfully-clad hippies, whose Splashy spirits remained high whether they were jiving to a great South African band or chilling down by the riverside. The weather was kind this year and brought four full days of KZN sunshine.

Often a serious detox, a long shower and some much needed R&R, I put together two videos that I hope encapsulate the Splashy experience for any of those who couldn’t make it to Splashy Fen’s 20th birthday jam. Enjoy.

Splashy videos: The 20th Splashy Fen

Splashy Fen videos: 2009 highlights

** Click here to see videos from last year’s Splashy Fen **

IF you’re looking for something fun and exciting to do this weekend then make your way down to the Gateway Shopping Centre in Umhlanga where Nintendo Week (Wiik :P) is currently underway.

A section of the mall has been turned into a free-for-all Wii and DS arena, showcasing some of the latest and most popular Wii titles. Visitors are encouraged to try out as many of the games as possible, including 42 all-time Wii classics that will be on offer.

Kerry Taoushiani, Marketing Manager for Core Gaming says,

“While we have been running similar exhibits in malls countrywide all year, what makes Nintendo Week different from standard promotions is that the event is highly interactive with a big sound stage and room to kick up a fuss, perform and compete with others. We are not merely showcasing the games, but encouraging everyone to get involved, test their skills and stand in line to win exciting prizes”

A variety of tournaments will be run daily, and Mario and Luigi will be making daily appearances to keep the kids well entertained.

Wii want to play
With a colourful variety of Wii titles on offer, Nintendo Week aims to demonstrate that there is a game for everyone - from family fun with Big Brain Academy to kicking it up a gear with Mario Kart Wii and even building up a sweat with Wii Fit.

Visitors can also test their "brain ages" on the DS Lite with the latest self-improvement craze, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training.

The crowds at Gateway will also be the first to experience Wii Music - the latest innovation from Nintendo, and will be able to join a virtual band.

Times of daily events:

• 11:00: Show folks who is the master of the Wii wheel in the daily Mario Kart Wii tournaments
• 15:00: Remember to bring your takkies for the Wii Sports tournaments and get some good exercise
• 16:00: Enter Gateway's Brainiest Family, a competition for the whole family to enter as a team, and test their skills on Big Brain Academy
• Nintendogs fans will be able to meet each other's puppies in daily "Bark Mode" sessions.

So if the weather is kak and the beach is out this weekend go check out Nintendo Week. The Nintendo team is on stand 09:00 - 22:00 until Monday 15 December. Go to Gateway's Promo court to catch some Nintendo action and find out what you really want for Christmas. And let me know what it's like!

Related posts:
Fitness that's fun - Wii!
Wii Music launched in SA

** More Gaming Promos **

CULTURAL HERITAGE PARADE: Celebrating our cultural differences

AS a build-up to Heritage Month to be held in Durban in September, Pietermaritzburg hosted a cultural heritage parade. The aim was to identify various cultural youth groups in the area and bring together the diverse cultures of our country. It is hoped that this pilot project will become an annual event that Pietermaritzburg will host in 2010.

KZN Cultural Heritage parade: Celebrating our cultural heritage

In all honesty, the event was a flop. They were expecting 3000 plus people to pitch up, yet the only life that could be seen consisted of a handful of school kids, the marchers and a couple of tumbleweeds.

It was held on a Saturday afternoon, the organisers were an hour and half behind schedule and there were several big sport matches  running at the same time on television. It took a lot of effort just to drag myself there.

But, the intenions are good and I hope the project has better success next year.

Until next time,
Happy viewing!

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