Adderley Street was crammed with people ready to launch the festive season with the annual switching on of the lights.
|||Cape Town - Adderley Street was crammed with people dressed in bright colours ready to officially launch the festive season with the switching on of the lights on Sunday.
Earlier, people gathered in small crowds around the Cape Town CBD, but as the night progressed, people who were unable to get to the main stage at the Grand Parade gathered around big screens to watch performances by the likes of Cassper Nyovest, Mafikizolo, All-Star School Superband, Groove Essentials, Jimmy Nevis, Snotkop, Goodluck and comedian Shimmy Isaacs.
Teenage boys and girls were taking selfies as their parents sang along with ’I love you daddy’, blasted through the speakers in memory of former child star Ricardo Groenewald, who died last month.
Flower seller Ilham Thomas said she enjoyed this time of year because it brought a boom to her modest business.
She was selling battery-powered items such as flashing earrings, illuminating sunglasses and children’s toys.
Morney Mills, from Mitchells Plain, said he had been part of this tradition for more than 10 years and opted to bring children from his neighbourhood so they could experience something special.
“Celebrating the lights just brings another kind of vibe. Where I come from children are exposed to gangsterism and drugs. They feel so at home here. I am going to take the last train at midnight just as my mother taught me,” he said.
In true Cape Town fashion, Mills and his sister packed in a feast to feed the army of children they brought with them.
Noorunisah Sodons, 76, said she travelled from Kewtown to offer her great-grandchildren an opportunity to experience an occasion she had been a part of for more than six decades.
“It is important because we have been coming here every year. I took a taxi and will be travelling home with my great-grandchildren because I just could not miss this atmosphere,” she said.
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Cape Argus
