Grahamstown has come alive!

By FJP 2012 Team  

There’s an exciting vibrancy in the air as you walk through the streets.  Walls are covered with wacky and eye-catching posters of different shows, and markets are jam-packed with food, fun and crafts.

Every corner has an interesting spectacle, from funny coloured cars to little boys with painted faces posing as statues.

At the market near the Cathedral, reporters meet Christopher Nalombe, a performer and Jembe drum player. He also sells African paintings.

“So far business is going well, people are buying my paintings, and that makes me happy because I can put money on the table,” he said, “But I’m disappointed because there is no

African vibe here, as Africans we should go back to our roots”.

We also spoke to Isaias Tivane, who has been a vendor at National Arts festival since 1993. He expressed disappointment about this year’s changes. “I’m not happy with the way things are, at first they changed the markets so we had to move,” he explained. “I’m also not happy because we don’t have performers in the market place. Why can’t they bring performers down here?”

Yon Coetzee, one of the co-ordinators of the market was, however, satisfied with how things went on the first day of the Fest. “Everything is going well so far, but people should book in advance and follow procedure if they want to book space if they want to sell their products”.  

Despite some disappointment from others, we’re still looking forward to more exciting shows and great entertainment that Grahamstown has to offer.