On Thursday the 26th of September I was invited to attend the Cape Winelands District Municipality Mayoral Awards with Jomine Minnies and Reinher Behrns from the Franschhoek Wine Valley tourism office.
The event took place at Rustic Venues in Wolsley and it was the first time I had been to this area. It was a lovely gathering of the winners and runners up, all being industry partners in various sectors of tourism. We enjoyed local bubbly and wine and a lovely dinner before the awards were handed out by the Executive Mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Ald (Dr) Elna Von Schlicht.
The Award winners
Robyn Kadis and Jomine Minnies
Our reason for attendance was to represent the Rond-en-Bond Cultural Tour which celebrates Coloured Culture in our area and for which I am the guide. I have been working closely with the FWV office, Jomine in particular to fine tune the tour and to assist the participants in presenting a polished and professional offering.
Reinher Behrns and Robyn Kadis
The tour is about 3 to 4 hours long, and we visit 5 community members in the area. We start off with Juda at the Medicinal Garden in the village and then move on to Groendal and visit Aunty Ruth at the Teesakkie for some refreshments while we are entertained by the Sinotando community Choir. We then visit the Groend Community Centre and see how the Ndlovu Sewing Project is helping skill unemployed people giving them a chance of becoming employable or self-employed. We also have a tour of this great facility and check out all the services they provide for the community.
The last stop we make is to the KhoiSan kraal in Wemmershoek where we meet Hoofman Chris (headman Chris) and his clan and learn about their culture through stories, history, song and food. We share a light meal with them in the reed hut before heading back into Franschhoek, newly educated and enlightened and able to utter a few KhoiSan phrases which we have been diligently taught by the clan members.
The Mayoral awards are awarded to the best that the Winelands has to offer and our tour received the Runner Up Award in the Special Projects category. Well done to Jomine for putting together a fabulous cultureal experience for our visitors to enjoy.
Should you wish to take part in a Rond-en-Bont tour, please get in touch with us by email or through the contact form on this website and we will give you all the info required. It is a truly enriching experience which will stay with you for years to come.
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