DURBAN - In a drive to revive the province’s economy and create jobs, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government will hold a three-day Cultural and Heritage Experience festival at the weekend.
The event is expected to be held between Friday and Sunday at Margate Hotel in Port Shepstone on the South Coast.
The premier Sihle Zikalala and Arts and Culture MEC Hlengiwe Mavimbela would launch the event on Wednesday, and outline the full details of the event, including artists that would perform.
In the short media statement released by the premier’s office and the department, the event, which is the first of its kind, will feature fashion, film, literature exhibitions, poetry and live performances from some of KZN’s top artists. It will also help create a lifeline for the creative sector, which has been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In addition, the event will contribute towards the economic recovery of the province and create exposure for some of the artists who have participated in the Department of Arts and Culture driven ‘Keeping Arts Alive’ programme,” read the statement.
In his State of the Province Address last week the premier said his government would focus more on reviving the economy and create jobs.
Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality spokesperson Simon April told the Daily News that the people of his municipality and the entire Ugu district are very excited about the coming event.
He said the event would contribute to the tourism industry and boost the local economy.
He said the event comes just after the municipality approved the proposal to host the Africa Bike Festival, which is expected to be held in April, saying all these events would boost local tourism and revive the district economy which, like other areas, was battered by Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our economy mainly depends on tourism here, so we welcome these kinds of events as they immensely contribute to reviving the South Coast economy as a whole, not only for business under our municipality. As the country slowly returns to normalcy, we are hoping for the return of the annual Ugu Jazz Festival, which is one of the events that benefits our tourism and economy on the South Coast,” said April.
Daily News