Carnival 2010
You Tube: Carnival 2010(Video by Deon Bing)
In 2010, the 6th annual eMzantsi Carnival took place on Saturday 4th December and the theme was 'STEP UP!'. For those that were missing the 'Gees' of the World Cup, this was another chance to join the south peninsula's very own Fanwalk! This year, the parade was less a procession and more a full theatrical performance, with the Kommetjie Road as the stage. We asked spectators to dress for a wedding and come and support this symbolic story of overcoming our fears, facing the future together and being proud of a shared cultural identity.
At the beginning of the year, people from across the eMzantsi intercultural schools, music and mapiko projects came together to create the eMzantsi 2010 story. Read 'Step Up, Take Heart, Give Love' here. While the basic fable of the Fisherman's Daughter who is brave enough to reach out to the Snake King is quite simple, a more profound message can be read into it. Are you fed up of being afraid? Let us step up, take responsibility for ourselves, for community-building and nation-building. It is time to pull together and to take the first step – towards each other.
For the first time ever, in our 6th year, there were spectators lining the road right from the beginning of the parade to the end - a significant increase from last year which made us very proud. Children from the eMzantsi primary schools twinning programme accompanied the giant Bride puppet, playing the role of her family, while high school participants worked with the eMzantsi mapiko crew to bring the giant Slangvanger and Makhulu puppets to life.
Following the hiphop dance display by Arts Vibrations, the arrival and interaction of the giant puppets at the fourway junction culminating in the transformation of the Snake King to a Rainbow Prince caused a sensation. This year we managed to carry off a long held ambition – to end the parade with a 'Circle of Wonder' where the parade curls round so all participants can see each other and sing a finale song to bring us together. The primary schools' participants had been taught the words beforehand, and the chorus was led by gospel singer and Ocean View music project facilitator Ricardo Herdien:
Chorus lyrics for eMzantsi Carnival 2010 finale song: You Can Be
You can be what you wanna be
Whatever your dream, don't stop believin'
Reach out touch the sky
It's your time to shine
This year, the focus of the stage show was on collaborations facilitated by eMzantsi music project participants, rather than the usual smorgasbord of local entertainers – who had had their chances to perform throughout the year at our 4WAY LIVE events. There was a tangible spirit of unity between this truly inspiring group of young music project performers who have got to know each other so much better over the past year.
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