The inaugural Folklore set to take place at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg on Saturday 1st October 2022 as a celebration of African culture, customs and community . The festival is founded by none other than SAMA Award winning, indelible storyteller, Pilani Bubu.
The festival is set to round off South African Heritage Month with a diverse Pan-African creative offering from North, South, East and West Africa. A perfect family day experience! Tickets are between R80 – R200 at https://qkt.io/FolkloreFestival
Pilank Bubu says,
“We would like to announce that our MC and on the main stage is thespian and poet Napo Masheane.”
Performing on the main stage will be Pilani Bubu with her Folklore Ensemble; from Kenya, Papillion Musa, one of the first Kenyan musicians in recent times to look at African musical instruments with an eye to redesign, combine and upgrade them for a new musical experience; A nova from the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, Leomile; from Ghana, Stevo Atambire is a Frafra neo-griot and kologo (a two-stringed luth, often considered an ancestor of the banjo) and Wanlov the Kubolor a Ghanaian & Romanian award-winning music producer, performer and creative director. Kubolor plays the guitar and koshkas and speaks Pidgin, Ga, Twi, English, and Romanian.
The public can get a taste of what the festival is about on Friday the 9th of September at the Leano Stage at 81 De Korte Street in Braamfontein with guest featuring artists Leomile (Lesotho native presenting folktales through eclectic sounds) and Muneyi (guitarist and vocalist dedicated to telling stories of his Venda heritage) .
There will be a preview of the forthcoming Folklore Chapter 2 album: A conversation between children and ancestors in dreamscapes, exploring African spirituality, and knowledge transfer. Tickets are available on Quicket : https://qkt.io/eNrYN9
Aside from music the Folklore Festival offers a diverse cultural offering Bubu explains,
“Our Kids area in partnership with Ethni Kids Books has announced our program of young African authors at the Book Fair this year. We have youth activist and author of My Coily Crowny Hair’ Zulaikha Patel, HIV activist and author of I am still Zuri, Nozi Qamngana, 10 year-old child author of Enough Bullying, Siyavuya Mabece, author of My Family of Superheroes; Zinhle T. Matthews, Editor, translator and author of Chulumanco; Tumelo Moleleki, Amanda Mahlangu and Nonkululeko Nkosi, co-authors of Khanya’s first day at the park. The kids area will also include performance workshops in indigenous instruments, uhadi, drumming and more as well as some performance and play with Toys with Roots and its own market with children’s literature and inclusive toys for African children.”
The National School of the Arts students will perform their highly anticipated African Reflections. This celebratory musical journey of African and Pan-African music piece in collaboration main stage artists.
Food is a major component of the Folklore Festival too.
“We are also calling on African Food and Crafts Market vendors with unique and distinct local products to send in their profiles and products to apply for our market, that celebrates innovative small business owners and informal traders. Email vmbardill@gmail.com if you are interested. ”
The Festival is supported by the National Arts Councils and the SAMPRA Development Fund and is produced by Bupila Publishing by Pilani Bubu.
Tickets between R80 – R200, on sale from Wednesday 27th July 2022 via Quicket. Stay tuned for the second artist announcement in early August.