The Cape Town Carnival Parade from Chiappini Street to York Road
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- Created on Friday, 16 March 2012 10:43
The Cape Town Carnival is an annual street parade, which has called Long Street its home for the past two years. This year the carnival spreads its wings and ventures to the Cape Town FanWalk on Saturday 24 March 2012, starting at 20h00.
The success of the past two years has exceeded the expectations of the performers, sponsors, volunteers and above all the spectators and people of Cape Town. The city proved their love for a good street party when an estimated 60,000 people from diverse communities descended into the Mother city. Because of this overwhelming support, carnival organisers have had no choice but to move this elaborate celebration of cultures to accommodate the people of Cape Town.
The Carnival is the culmination of months of hard work and preparation by costume makers, float builders, the Cape Town Carnival team and of course choreographers and community performers who spent many hours practising and perfecting their dance routines.
The float building and costume departments produce floats and costumes that are widely praised as world class for their creativity and innovation by local and international spectators and visitors. As Jamie MacRae, whose school group from Canada performed with the Bridgetown Community, said: “The spirit of the evening was awesome. You have a winner here”.
The Carnival parade will take place along the Fanwalk and will start at Chiappini street until York Road, a distance of 1,3km.
The carnival parade will be made up of 2500 dancers who will each be part of a carnival academy. Each group or academy will have an average of 200 dancers, all dressed in identical costumes and performing carefully choreographed dance moves.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Carnival
1. Where will the 2012 Cape Town Carnival parade take place?
• FanWalk, Somerset Road, Greenpoint, Cape Town.
2. When does the parade take place?
• The parade starts at 20:00 on Saturday 24th March 2012
3. How does the Carnival parade work?
• The parade is a large spectacular performance by 11 Carnival Academies consisting of approximately 2000 dancers and 11 large floats moving rhythmically down FanWalk, Somerset Road.
4. What are Carnival Academies?
• A Carnival Academy is a group of dance schools from a genre of dance or geographical area, consisting of approximately 150 community dancers/performers. Each Academy has a King and Queen who perform the dance of the Academy. There are also 6 special Lead Dancers, who support the Academy performance.
5. Are the performers judged?
• All Academies are judged and one academy will be declared the winner.
• The Academy King and Queens also compete for the title of King and Queen of Carnival. The winners get to perform in the Rio Carnival in Brazil.
• The Lead dancers also compete for the title of Carnival Lead Dancer and the winner also travels to Brazil to perform alongside the King and Queen at the Rio Carnival.
6. Can food and drinks be purchased at Carnival?
• Yes. The Fanwalk is full of bars, restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets. Additional vendors will also sell food and beverages on the side of the street.
7. Will there be Carnival merchandise on sale?
• Yes, vendors will be selling official Carnival merchandise.
8. What is the best way to come into the city?
• It is advisable to make use of the many Park ‘n Ride facilities available at any of the main Railway stations. Check the website and press for more detailed information.
9. How much will the Park ‘n Ride cost?
• To make use of the Park ‘n Ride is free. However the public will have to pay for the rail journey into the city, this varies from R5 to R10. The return journey (home) will be free.
