Coda headlines Cape Town Festival 2009

Cape Town Festival announces star studded headline acts as "one city, many cultures" event hails in 10th anniversary celebrations.

Says Western Cape Premier Lynne Brown of Cape Town Festival 2009: "We are lucky to live in a beautiful city where people from all walks of life come together on a daily basis, where strangers say hello in the street and a smile is never far away. The Cape Town Festival highlights those aspects of co-operation and is a celebration of diversity that is a reflection of the spirit of Capetonians."

"We have come up with a truly remarkable line-up of unifying events in this, the tenth year of Cape Town Festival. It is hard to believe that ten years have flown by so fast," says Cape Town Festival Chairperson Ryland Fisher as he announces a glittering Cape Town Festival 2009 line-up.

As a fitting tribute for a decade of endeavouring to bring Capetonians closer together in what is viewed by some as an "incomparable" culture and heritage event, Cape Town Festival 2009's Main Festival weekend takes place between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 March at what has become a perennially popular Cape Town Festival venue of the Company's Gardens.

Billed as a diverse arts, culture and heritage event that caters for all cultural groups and ages, Mother City residents and visitors alike can look forward to a Main Festival line-up that includes jazz greats Jonathan Rubain, featuring Robbie Jansen; Alvin Dyers, featuring Leslie Kleinsmith; as well as other homegrown favourites such as Prime Circle, Coda, The Rudimentals, The Rockets, and Alistair Izobel. Yet more jazz indulgences are to be had with the presence of rising star, 23-year-old Khayelitsha resident Nomfusi Gotyana (the only newcomer invited to perform at a recent Miriam Makeba tribute concert), as well as Mono Dullisear, Celeste Williams, Moreira Project, and Raylene.

Cape Town Festival 2009 culminates in the Cape Town Festival's flagship event, the Human Rights Day celebration on Sunday 22 March, which will include a marimba performance and cultural dancing; community artists from Atlantis, Muizenberg and Hanover Park; Kunjalo; Alistair Izobel; and The Rockets. This collaboration of headline entertainers across genres will no doubt attract a diverse cross section of festival-goers.

This is preceded by a lecture series between Tuesday 17 and Thursday 19 March.

A stimulating Youth Workshop Programme, which will seek to engage 2 000 learners from no less than 30 schools, takes place from Monday 16 until Friday 20 March.

Contextualising Cape Town Festival as the Mother City continues to build capacity ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Fisher outlines the Cape Town Festival mission as "seeking to celebrate Cape Town, its people and diverse cultures while contributing to local economic development and promotion of tourism."

"Our vision remains true to the 'One City, Many Cultures' ethos," he adds. "We aim to play a key role in contributing towards a more tolerant, united and integrated city," he says.

Program Line-up:

Friday 20 March 2009, 17h00 – 21h30

17h00 – 17h30: Coda
17h45 – 18h00: Welcome
18h00 – 18h30: Nomfusi
18h45 – 19h30: Robbie Jansen & Jonathan Rubain
19h45 – 20h30: Celeste Williams
20h45 – 21h30: Alvin Dyers feat Errol

Saturday 21 March 2009, 13h00 – 20h30 (Human Rights Day)

13h00 – 13h20: Spritual Opening
13h30 – 14h00: Desert Rose
14h15 – 15h00: Mono Dullisear feat Celeste
15h15 – 16h00: Claire Philips
18h00 – 19h00: Rudimentals
19h30 – 20h30: Prime Circle

Sunday 22 March 2009, 14h00 – 20h00

14h00 – 15h00: Kunjalo
15h15 – 15h45: Community Artists - Atlantis
16h00 – 16h30: Community Artists - Muizenberg
16h45 – 17h15: Community Artists - Hanover Park
17h30 – 18h00: Raylene
18h15 – 19h00: Alistair Izobel
19h15 – 20h00: The Rockets

For further information, visit the Cape Town Festival website www.capetownfestival.co.za.