Parkview’s much-loved Heritage Festival returns to Tyrone Avenue on Saturday, 19 September, promising a full day of books, big conversations, fabulous food, wine and entertainment for the whole family.
Hosted by the Parkview Residents’ Association, the festival will transform Tyrone Avenue into a celebration of everything that makes Parkview special, with ParkWords, ParkKids, ParkFood and ParkWine offering something for every age and interest.
Big ideas and fascinating stories at ParkWords
This year’s ParkWords programme brings together an impressive line-up of writers, journalists, academics, commentators and local personalities for conversations ranging from the serious to the wonderfully nostalgic.
Money – and those who have rather a lot of it – comes under scrutiny when investigative authors Gus Silber and Rob Rose discuss the lives, luxuries, lies and legacies of the super-rich. Meanwhile, Forgotten Parkview will see suburb stalwarts Helene Bramwell, Franco Forleo, Russell Wallace and Dave Gurney swap stories about the neighbourhood with Peter Delmar.
One of the more intriguing stories on the programme takes audiences back to 1965, when Marlene Dietrich performed in Johannesburg. Hamilton Wende and Fiona Ramsay will explore why the famously outspoken opponent of Nazism agreed to perform in apartheid South Africa – and the painful secret she was keeping from local audiences.
There is plenty of contemporary debate too. Ferrial Adam, Ferial Haffajee, Alex van den Heever and Philanie Jooste, in conversation with David Lewis, will examine the possibilities and limitations of civic action in the face of state inaction. With South Africans heading to the polls on 4 November, one of the day’s most timely discussions will ask what the country might look like afterwards. Journalist and broadcaster Giulietta Talevi will put Mondli Makhanya, Rob Rose, Peter Bruce, Sithembile Mbete and William Gumede on the spot about why these elections could prove so important for South Africa’s democratic future.
Johannesburg itself takes centre stage when Sarah Nuttall, Ivan Vladislavic and Simon van Schalkwyk consider what the city is becoming, while other sessions explore writing about family, memoir and memory, and the creation of the award-winning Brahman Hills garden in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
For those who prefer putting their own knowledge to the test, the hugely popular Lit Quiz returns to Blind Tiger Café. Gather your cleverest friends and prepare to pit your literary knowledge against fellow book lovers – but don’t leave booking too late. Only 70 tickets are available, making this one of the festival’s most limited events.
Festival-goers can also swap the quiz table for the streets of Parkview. Lucille Davie will lead a two-hour, 3.5km heritage walk exploring the suburb’s trees and historic landmarks, including the “Parkview Castle”, the origins of its Irish street names and the story of a once-vast forest around Zoo Lake.
Plenty for younger festival-goers at ParkKids
Young visitors have their own programme at ParkKids, once again curated by POPArt. The programme includes readings, storytelling and interactive drama workshops, with activities designed for different age groups.
The Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg will keep the littlest ones entertained with a dedicated play area for babies and toddlers, featuring soft play and carnival games. Children aged five to eight can take part in a POPArt drama workshop, while a separate drama and storytelling session caters for 9- to 13-year-olds.
The line-up includes readers and storytellers for all ages including Hamilton Wende, Amy Hedenrich, Thandi Xaba, William Gumede and Blackbird. Toddlers will have their own arts-and-crafts play area, while the afternoon ends on a high with the Party Squad, a dance-focused session aimed particularly at teens.
Come hungry for ParkFood
Visitors would be well advised to arrive hungry. One of the pleasures of hosting the festival on Tyrone Avenue is that the street already boasts a thriving restaurant scene, and local favourites will once again become part of the festival experience.
Croft & Co, MishMash Mediterranean, Palace of Punjab, Trabella Pizzeria, Blind Tiger Café, Asian Twist and Franco’s Pizzeria & Trattoria will be serving up plenty of variety throughout the day. Festival-goers can start with breakfast, stop for lunch and a glass of wine between ParkWords sessions, or settle in for an early dinner as the festivities wind down.
Last year, Tyrone Avenue’s restaurants helped transform the street into a food lover’s paradise, and ParkFood once again gives visitors the chance to support the local businesses that contribute so much to the character and energy of Parkview.
Swirl, sniff and sip at ParkWine
For the grown-ups, ParkWine returns with a dedicated wine-tasting experience featuring a selection of some of South Africa’s finest wine estates, including Gabriëlskloof, Paul René, Catherine Marshall Wines, Bouchard Finlayson, Iona, Bruce Jack Wines, Axe Hill Winery, Bosman Family Vineyards and Babylonstoren.
Visitors can wander between tastings, linger over a cheese platter, and soak up the more leisurely side of the festival before heading back out to the books, food and entertainment on Tyrone Avenue.
Only 400 ParkWine tickets are available, so advance booking is strongly recommended.
A celebration of community
At its heart, the Parkview Heritage Festival is about bringing people together and celebrating the diversity, history and creativity of the community through books, food, wine and family entertainment – the combination captured in its tagline: “Books, bites, bubbles and buzz!”
Last year, literary sessions filled to capacity, local restaurants buzzed throughout the day and the wine garden became a relaxed meeting place, while the streets came alive with families, music and entertainment.
This year’s festival is sponsored by Chartered Wealth Solutions, Exclusive Books, Fine & Country, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Jonathan Ball Publishers and Ultra Liquors Parkview. General festival tickets are R100 per adult and R50 per child. ParkWine tickets are R250.
Tickets: https://parkview.org.za/product-category/tickets/