One of the highlights of Cape Town’s culture calendar has to be the amazing Infecting the City Public Arts Festival. The Africa Centre’s, Infecting The City Public Arts Festival, will explode on to the streets and public spaces of Cape Town for the fifth time from the 5th to the 10th March 2012.

Infecting the City in Cape Town is South Africa’s only performing arts festival and what makes it so special is the fact that it consists of impromptu performances on the streets. As an audience member you follow the designated “Jewel Route,” which consists of several performances that are placed all over the town center.

Infecting The City is by far the largest and most diverse annual public arts festival in South Africa. This year, celebrated local and international artists will create artworks that unlock the communal spaces in the Cape Town City Centre. The art will encourage audiences to see, hear and smell the extraordinary by taking a fresh look at the Mother City, its citizens, and themselves in radically different ways.

If you’d like a little more info, visit http://www.infectingthecity.com, like the Festival on Facebook, follow ITC on Twitter (@infectingthecit) or call the Africa Centre on 021 422 0468.

For those of you that weren’t at Caprice last week wednesday for an evening of Mooiness, then this is what you missed, in no particular order:

Jameson in tumbler with 3 blocks of ice
CAFÉ CAPRICE AND JAMESON PRESENT THE GUESS FASHION SHOW
Canapés that made your eyes water
Caprice sunsets
Lastly, but most certainly not least… Mooiness & Mooimen for the mooiness that were watching.

Here are some piccies from another awesome year at the fashion show!

We all know how difficult it is to find a good bikini that nips and tucks in all the right places and also keeps all of the boys interest (phew I think thats officially the gayest I’ve been all year). The very talented people at Coco Lifestyle are doing their best to make the aforementioned task that much simpler with their Summer Launch going down this weekend. Coco Lifestyle, the popular luxury swimwear brand, is collaborating with Dermalogica to host a fun and fabulous day of shopping and pampering to launch Coco’s 2011 Summer Collection at St Yves Beach Club in Camps Bay, Cape Town on Saturday 10 December 2011 from 10am to 3pm.

Coco Lifestyle will be showcasing their latest range of locally-produced swimwear, which revolves around celebrating glamorous, sexy and vibrant South African women.  All items from the collection will be on sale for up to 35% off! Dermalogica will be hosting a skin bar at the launch, where guests will be privy to free face mapping and trial products for everyone that purchases a Coco bikini.

Competition Time:

We’re giving away a Coco Luxury bikini voucher to the value of R500 (has to be spent at the sale this weekend). If you’re keen to get your shop on, leave us a comment below telling us your favourite place to wear your bikini (is at a particular beach, your neighbours pool etc). Winner will be announced on Friday afternoon at 5pm.

Earlier this year MCBN went to check out the Red Carpet Fashion show and we had a complete ball of a time. Kreg wore a sheep skin jacket, the mooiness went mad… all in all it was the best fashion we’ve been to yet (Full Story over HERE). 2012 welcomes the third annual Red Carpet Fashion Show, a Red Carpet Concepts production, to it’s calendar with the promise of yet another elaborately stylish event showcasing some of South Africa’s most celebrated designers and sought after celebrity guests at the prestigious Rotanda in Camps Bay on the 10th of Feb.

One of the things that made this show quite special was the fact that it managed to raise a handsome sum of money for the Animal Rescue Organisation during the Red Carpet Fashion Show in 2011. This trend is set to continue with proceeds from the next event going towards raising funds for yet another charity in 2012.

“Our goal is to host a fun and fabulous affair where guests can enjoy a glamorous fashion focussed evening whilst giving something back to charity. My vision for the annual Red Carpet Fashion Show is to combine luxury with a charitable cause,” says Red Carpet Concepts Founder and MD, Jade Allen.

Red Carpet Fashion Show guests are privy to complementary drinks and canapés all evening, with champagne and oysters on arrival at the exclusive after party taking place at the Sandy B Private Beach Club.  Each guest is set to receive an incredible goody bag (it was awesome the last time out), and one lucky guest will walk away with a gorgeous diamond bracelet. 

Tickets available now through Webtickets.

For more information hit up the Red Carpet Concepts Website

Webtickets

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On Saturday night I popped down to the Traffic Clothing Summer Collection Fashion show at Trinity. I quite enjoy going to these kinds of shows as a way of keeping in touch with what everyone is going to be wearing throughout Summer and making sure that I’m always on trend (I also like writing things like that to point out how ridiculous David Tlale sounds when he does interviews).

The event was all about celebrating a trip back into the world of colour, which was fairly apparent from the moment that the show kicked off. Starting with Colour Blocking, the show featured Summer trends including Urban Nomad–combining country life influences and rural romance to create a breed of hippie glamour; Tropical–with printed dresses, two piece suits and bikinis that make you feel like you’re in paradise, and Rock Glam –a contrast of burnished marten metallic’s and heavy black to amplify the ultimate rock and roll demeanour.

The show was hosted by a unbelievably irritating host that had no idea how to work a crowd or be at all entertaining. The almost totally offensive JP Sebastian went happily along with destroying any sense of excitement in the crowd and even got details about the show wrong when he announced the entertainment for night (it did appear he had been tickling the devil’s dust before stepping on stage to be fair). Margaret Westergreen of the Digital Divas opened up the show with some tasty beats and also threw in one of my favourites from Trentmoller (Moan) while I put some Café Le Chocolatier treats in and around my face waiting for the show to begin.

The TRAFFIC Clothing brand showed on the night that they were heavily inspired by Japanese street style along with European Summer trends. I feel like they offered up quite a killer selection of on point fashion trends at prices that would leave you with some cash for spending on cocktails. Summer is all about being bright and creative, providing a hot fusion of colours and textures that ultimately create a unique style and TRAFFIC Clothing offers a clothing range that is cutting-edge and fabulously trendy.   

“We have made it effortless to greet summer as a glam super star, by including slinky fabrics and chiffon, which are relaxed and easy to wear. The colours in this collection range from bold neon to soft pastels and luxuriant browns. Every fashionista can rely on TRAFFIC Clothing to ensure they dazzle!” says Gareth Botha, Fashion Designer, Stylist and Buyer for Imvusa Trading.

My favourite part about these events other than the fashion is the goody bag. This time I was able to stock up a nice selection of stuff from Bronze International Tanning Studio, Rikki’s Cabs, Lethentric, African Pride 15 on Orange Hotel, Glamour, GQ and Swiss Laser. The entertainment that followed on from Miss Westergreen was very commercial but that was to be expected given that the entertainment was Koula (Highveld Stereo), Suga (GoodHope FM) and Dan Scot will be rocking the after party.

My favourite trend for Summer has to be Nautical. No longer do the stripes have to be your traditional white/blue… As long as there’s colour, stripes and relaxed fit (for the guys)- you’ll have everyone on the beach turning heads.

As you know by now, Deep Filth has created an absolute monster of an electro track called ‘MyCiyByNight’ and it has gotten some really insane local and international interest in terms of remixes. On the local side of things, Pascal & Pearce, Riot Squad & Enough Weapons and on the international side of things, Aussie duo Nadisko have taken task and created their own versions of ‘MyCityByNight’ which is set to be released on Plasmapool records.

If you would like to test your design skills and create the EP cover for Deep Filth’s latest EP – MyCityByNight, then heres what you need to do:

Get wild, get creative, but most of all the main things is it needs to say Deep Filth – My City By Night.

The specs:

jpg
1000x1000pix
300dpi

Please send your entries to crew@mycitybynight.co.za or (click here)

NB – Please note: It mustn’t say REMIXERS or RECORD LABEL names on the cover at all. That will all be sorted out.

Entries close on the 8th of December and we will choose a winner on the 9th of December.

Winners will receive the FULL EP along with a Deep Filth Mix Pack, 3 bottles of Red Stag & a Royal Vendetta FVCK trucker cap and more!

We will be throwing in some prizes along the way!

LG Fritx mix for Kush Lifestyle

Born and raised in the Mother City, KUSH is a Cape Town based clothing company. The KUSH Team saw a gap in the market for simplistic, comfortable and high quality apparel.

Socializing with friends, meeting new people and contacts and stomping to the beats of our favourite local DJ’s is what we live by at night.

It was this love for the Cape Town nightlife that fuelled our passion for a clothing range that fully incorporates the party scene into our designs and core values. And that is how KUSH came to be.

We started producing flat-peak caps in April 2011 and have since moved on to producing T-shirts – with more products coming soon.

We believe in top quality, everyday street wear with simplistic and modern designs. All our products are produced in South Africa, from the best materials available!

KUSH has a great passion for the ever growing local Drum n Bass, Dubstep and Electro scene, and we try and promote as many local DJ’s and Events as possible. We already have a ever-growing team of Ambassadors that wear the KUSH brand with pride, and are just as passionate about this brand as we are.

Love For Africa

Contact info:

Website: www.kushlifestyle.co.za

Email: info@kushlifestyle.co.za

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kushClothing

Twitter: @kushDnB

Online Catalogue: www.kushlifestyle.co.za/kush_catalog

To order any of our merchandise, simply email us the product code to info@kushlifestyle.co.za

Shirts are priced at R150 and R70 for the vests. Keep a look out for our new range of caps that will be available soon.

A Word of Art has established itself as a genuine source for creative inspiration and are continuing this trend with their  upcoming exhibition with current artist in residence Yumanizumu from Tokyo Japan.

Yumanizumu, is an artist from Tokyo who will be exhibiting his works, which include drawing, sculptures, paintings and installations from the 3rd to the 5th of November. On the opening evening there will be a party to celebrate the exhibition featuring DJ’s Jakob Snake, Veronica(Venezuela) ,Plagarhythm and Fuzzy Slippers. The opening starts at 8pm and ends at 2am.

For more information on the / A WORD OF ART residency program and to view the artists in residents ‘travel blogs’ see here:
http://www.a-word-of-art.co.za/art-residency/

You can also view the feature that CNN did on Ricky Lee Gordon and A Word of Art over HERE

We are huge supporters of design and using it to better your everyday life. Whether it’s making something more engaging to look at or instead giving function to everyday items around your city we believe that design is a central part to making our lives better. The announcement of the World Design Capital 2014 bid (Cape Town is a finalist) is a mere week away and the finalists for the Your Street Cape Town Challenge have proved why this city deserves the title more than any other.

The Your Street Challenge called for creative proposals on how to enhance an aspect of your city’s street life through the power of design. The challenge called on Capetonians to use the creativity, which they are famous for to come up with commercially viable ways to own, love and improve their streets.  A total of R250 000 has been made available for the implementation of the best, most feasible ideas.

In choosing the seven finalists the jury looked specifically at how the entrants’ responded to the six principles guiding the challenge, namely generosity; international excellence and innovation; feasibility; fun; do and a better world through creativity.

Here are the seven finalists, in no particular order, with a brief description of their proposals. 

1. Verena Grips with Matchbox: The Matchbox project proposes repurposing shipping containers into crèches for disadvantaged communities.
2. Luke Pedersen, Jenny Pedersen, Kirsty Rielly, Jess Pedersen and Katherine Spindler with Violet’s Walk: A clearly marked walking route in Woodstock with resting benches placed strategically along the way. 
3. Lorena Pasquini, Mark Henning and Hannah Williams with Acre Road, Kensington: A community-based design solution to improve the lives of the Acre Road community using low-cost facilities to cater for positive community activities. 
4. Andrew Cole, Rene Bakker, Andrea Ferry and Pieter H Botha with Let Us Grow: Let Us Grow is an urban farming initiative that supplies fresh produce to urban dwellers, while also creating employment.
5. Ashley Stemmet, Porky Hefer and Tsai with Urban Mosaic: An aesthetically pleasing way to the solve the problem of shack fires, Urban Mosaic proposes painting the exteriors of shacks with a fire retardent paint. 
6. Sonja Spamer with Kidz-Up  City: A playground project that rethinks “traditional” playground furniture to make it more inclusive and with forms better suited to learning, while playing. 
7. Joe Schutzer-Weissmann and Gerald van Wyk with Jamshack: Jamshack is a licensed stage where pre-selected performers will play to a busy Cape Town street. 

The finalists will have an opportunity to present their final plans to the jury, which includes representatives from the City of Cape Town, before a final decision will be made and announced on Tuesday 25 October 2011. I think it really is inspiring to see so many positive ideas to make urban life in Cape Town THAT much better through using design. I really do hope that we get the title of World Design Capital 2014.

Don’t fret too much if you’re from Jozi because you’ll also have a chance to show your design skills with the Design Indaba Your Street Gauteng Challenge. The GP really could use a bit more of a friendly feel, especially in the center of then urban sprawl that most of our workers call home.

PASTE was a street art exhibition curated by Shani Judes of SJ ARTISTS and Between 10and5 .Inspired by the recent Inside Out Project, 15 local artists were selected to design, illustrate or photograph work around the theme of Khayelitsha Culture. These works were turned into large scale wheat pastes and were pasted around Khayelitsha and within nooks and crannies of the inner city of The Mother City Cape Town.

It was quite a cool initiative and I saw a couple of the works on walls on the way home and while cruising around being awesome. Looks like they achieved their aim to take the exhibition out of the gallery space and into the streets of both city and township- spreading the art into the different cultures and allowing the greater community access.

Check out this little after-vid put together from the exhibition with the hope that it’ll get some sponsors interested in making it happen in all the other townships around SA.

You wouldnt exactly be crucified if you described MyCityByNight to your friends and strangers in the streets as the place to go if you’re looking to find the latest news and information about popular culture, entertainment and nightlife in general. MCBN is media consumption central in South Africa with our reach slowly growing in the global market each time we mention the word Asian (at least 50 people just liked our Facebook fanpage because I said that).

In some of the biggest news to break at the end of September we found out that South Africa was due for it’s very own iteration of the media monolith- Rolling Stone magazine. Rolling Stone is the godfather of popular culture as far as the medium of print goes, as well as having made forays into digital and film with everything from reality shows to top notch online content and from next month it will be a fixture on South African newsstands.

The South African edition will be launched as a monthly title pushing a print run of 30 000 copies, meaning that they positioned it as being a strong contender to all the titles we currently look to for inspiration. With most of the information around the South African edition still being kept relatively under wraps we have managed to find out who will be making up the spine of this publication and taking on the task of keeping the masses informed.

The core team looks like this:

• Publisher: Diageo Business Award-nominated entrepreneur and 3i Publishing CEO, Mohammed Khan.
• Editor-in-Chief: visionary music journalist and SAMA judge, Miles Keylock.
• Creative Director: multipleaward-winning designer and visual production adept, Georgia Gardner.
• Chief Photographer: internationally acclaimed artist, Pieter Hugo.
• Consulting Editor: SAMA-winning rapper and youth cultural soothsayer Siya ‘Slikour’ Metane.
• Contributing Music Editor: award-winning journalist and SAMA judge, Diane Coetzer.
• Chief Marketing Strategist: BrandsRock CEO and award- winning brand synergist, Mike Joubert.

That looks like a team that has capabilities of fulfilling the incredibly high expectations that I have of the publication and has the makings of what could be a fairly strong force in the local media industry, barring one or two additions that currently work here at MyCityByNight (cough).

On the Rolling Stone website it says that they’re aiming to really kick off the promotion work to get the word out there from 15 October and I thought I’d be nice and do my bit to help. The launch of the local magazine is penciled in for Wednesday 9^th November 2011 (although the rate card I had a look at says 15 Novemer 2011) and will without a doubt be accompanied by a launch party of note… I mean it’s Rolling Stone dammit.

As a publication, Rolling Stone SA aims to cover music, politics and movies, cutting across racial and economic lines, connecting with readers through a celebration of local and international music, politics and culture. It really is like nothing we’ve had available here in South Africa before and I expect that we’ll see plenty of new talent discovered along with respect given to iconic individuals and artists within South Africapopular culture.

Rolling Stone speaks to all South African music lovers covering everything from kwaito and rock to hip-hop, house and electronic music as a whole. Rolling Stone believes in music as a unifying force, bringing together black and white in both big city metropolises and small dorps.

Tick tock…

This made me laugh! Enjoy your Monday.

Join Feiyue on the 29th of September at Mooks in Rosebank for the final instalment of the Shapes Campaign.

On display will be the 4 pieces of artwork by DEKOR, R!OT, GERHARD VAN WYK and BEN RAUSCH from the 4 week window campaign that ran throughout August.

Artists will also be on site for live sneaker customizations!

Beats + Drinks provided

J Crew has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading men’s fashion retailers over time. However, in the past their clothes and advertising campaigns conjured up images of very clean looking men with cardigans draped over their shoulders… Which is appealing… if you are 105.

Finally they’ve decided to take a bit of a new direction with some help from the peeps over at Ogilvy Cape Town and Egg Films. J Crew is now featured in a new television advert aimed at promoting their 25% Off Men’s Shirts special offer. Accompanying the advert is a rather tasty behind-the-scenes video, which shows the process behind the creation of an advert featuring four different mooiness wearing little other than the crisp, quality shirts for which J Crew is renowned.

Although the advert is a little more daring than usual, Queenspark are looking forward to seeing their consumers response. I for one am very… um… supportive

The 25-year old Donnet Dumas from Ice Model Management, who features in the ad summed it up as follows:

“Wearing a men’s shirt kind of makes you feel a little bit sexy, a little bit androgynous and very womanly. It makes you feel very womanly because you have to accentuate your feminine side as you’re wearing something masculine.”

The television advert and behind-the-scenes video are both set to the track “Evil Spell” by South African singer/songwriter Farryl Purkiss.

The J Crew 25% Off Men’s Shirts offer will be running during October 2011 and is applicable to all shirts currently available in store. For more information or to locate your nearest J Crew store, please visit: http://www.queenspark.com/

BACARDI kicked off their journey down a path of rebranding by getting together with local South African artists and cool people who they felt epitomised the new direction that they were taking. As part of their new ‘Together’ campaign, encouraging us to ‘get out and get together’, they put together two uniqye concept parties for Cape Town and Jozi aimed at creating once off evenings of awesome to be enjoyed by all those invited.

This first show took place last week Thursday at the Word of Art Gallery housed in the modern but industrial suburb of Woodstock. BACARDI enlisted the diverse talents of Cape Town visual artist Daniel Ting Chong, chef Kobus van der Merwe and synth-scratch DJ Sibot for the event, to create one of the first bespoke BACARDI experiences in SA.

The entrance to the venue was through a small cutout door with balloons and art to give everyone an idea of lay through the baby passage in the big metal gate. Inside everyone was as cool as you’d expect them to be with awesome decor and free Bacardi Together drinks flowing like the Justice-inspired tunes did from the speakers. BACARDI have been hosting ‘Better Together’ parties for over 100 years, and whilst this may be a one-off exclusive gig, it is just the start of BACARDI’s ‘Together’ campaign, where everyone will be able to enjoy the great taste of BACARDI with friends. More events are planned nationwide to bring the party, and the flavour of BACARDI to everyone.

As BACARDI SA’s Brand Manager, Candace Dyson, says,

“BACARDI believes humans are meant to be together because we are happier together, however as modern life has become more fast-paced, people are spending less time with friends. With the BACARDI ‘Together’ events we want to reconnect people, over great tasting drinks, and remind them of the importance of being together in person – there is no substitute for real human connection.”

We say… pour me another Bacardi with fresh lime around the rim…

The new campaign boasts a new TV commercial, ‘Inventions’, which premiered in SA late July and a fresh looking digital identity with a revamp of the BACARDI SA Facebook page.

DRINK TOGETHER RESPONSIBLY
http://www.bacardi.com/

For some pictures from the evening check out- WeAreAwesome

The boys at MyCityByNight grew up watching Marty Mcfly and his exploits in going “Back to the Future” and it’s fairly safe to say that we’re really huge fans. Everything about those movies was cool- especially the pair of sneakers that Michael J Fox’s character ends up purchasing to complete his outfit when he travels to the future. 1,500 pairs of 2011 Nike MAGs- real versions of the fictional futuristic 2015 Nike Mag sneakers that Marty McFly wears in the 1989 “Back to the Future” sequel, were auctioned off over the past couple of days since the 8th of September in a bid to raise money and awareness in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.

The only thing that makes these pairs at all different from the unbelievably awesome one’s in the movie is the capability to lace themselves (maybe by the 2015 launch that’ll all be sorted)- so yes, that does include full lighting in the soles. When they eventually are available for mass consumption in a few years, I’ll be one of the first people in line to grab a pair! Check out the official advert over here:

The Macallan, one of the world’s most acclaimed whiskys has made the effort to bring the internationally acclaimed Masters of Photography (MOP) exhibition to South Africa. This renowned black and white photographic series has travelled the globe including exhibitions in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Madrid, Toronto and Taiwan and will now be hosted in South Africa for two days only.

The Macallan approached Albert Watson, one of the world’s top photographers who was born blind in his one eye and is also known for the 200 Vogue cover pages that he shot, to photography the journey of The Macallan. Albert embarked upon a journey for 12 days covering a total of 965 kilometers while capturing the essence of how this whisky is made and exported globally.

“The Macallan came to me with the incredible story of the Spanish sherry oak casks used to make their single malt and asked me to interpret this as a photographic art project. The freedom and encouragement given to me allowed the creation of a visual journey demanding complete artistic integrity,” says Albert Watson, one of the world’s most respected and successful photographers of the past four decades. His striking images have appeared on over 240 covers of Vogue and Rolling Stone – some of the most iconic portraits of a generation including Alfred Hitchcock, Mick Jagger and Kate Moss.

Starting off in the forests of Northern Spain, where the Spanish oaks grow, to the traditional cooperage in Jerez, Watson began a journey of discovery, culminating in the alchemy and passion of The Macallan Distillery in Scotland. The photographic odyssey took place in three parts – the romantic tale of a couple’s road trip, a series of images expanding on this particular journey and
finally the creation of fine art platinum prints.

“The Macallan prides itself on aligning with masters of different crafts, which is why we are proud to present this international collaboration. To us the Macallan MOP showcases a unique relationship between two great art forms, whisky-making and photography,” commented Candice Baker, Brand Ambassador for The Edrington Group Whisky Portfolio.

To celebrate the launch of the Masters of Photography, The Macallan invites the public to view the prints in Cape Town on 30 September at the Photographers Gallery za and in Johannesburg on 14 October at the Co-Op gallery.

Tasting notes – The Macallan Sherry Oak 20 year old

NOSE – Dark chocolate orange, cloves, ginger and dried fruit, accented by polished oak

TASTE – Robust spine of blood orange and exotic spices, with an abundance of sun ripened raisins,
dates and sultanas

FINISH – Tantalisingly long, oak, allspice, stem ginger with sustained fruitiness

COLOUR – Lacquered rosewood

For combining two of our favourite things- ie Whisky and Photography we’re giving this particular initiative a solid thumbs up!

If you haven’t already noticed, MyCityByNight doesn’t ever shy away from consuming alcohol, especially if it is an ice cold, freshly poured draught. Lank ous think they can pour a killer beer and now they’ve all got the chance to prove it and become the Stella Artois Draught Master Champion.

South Africa is taking part in the search for the Stella Artois World Draught Master for the very first time this year and the South African champion will have the opportunity to compete for the title of World Draught Master against similarly skilled peeps from around the Globe.

Anyone can pour a decent draught. But the infamous “Wife Beater” is no ordinary draught – she needs to be handled with care. The World’s premium beer requires strict adherence to a nine step pouring ritual, that when performed correctly, results in perfection.

The steps may sound simple to the uninitiated, but the nine-step ritual is far more challenging than it may appear:

1. The Purification – Use a clean and rinsed branded glass.
2. The Sacrifice – Open the tap in one quick action and let the first drops of beer flow away
3. The Liquid Alchemy – Hold the glass just under the tap without touching it at a 45° angle
4. The Head, although ‘Crown’ would be more appropriate – Lower the glass to allow the natural formation of the foam head
5. The Removal – Close the tap quickly and move the glass away so beer doesn’t drip into the glass
6. The Beheading – While the head foams up and overflows the side of the glass, smooth it gently with a head cutter
7. The Cleansing – Clean the bottom and sides of the glass
8. The Judgement – The right amount of foam is usually about 2 fingers
9. The Bestowal – Present the beer on a clean beer coaster with the logo facing the consumer

For a more practical demonstration, aspiring champions can see a visual demonstration of the nine step pouring ritual check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW8UQ57PZXw

“Stella Artois is looking forward to seeing aspiring South African champions step up to the plate. Pouring the perfect Stella Artois draught is an art and we’re hoping to see some excellent competitors. Who knows, we might just have a South African World Draught Master this year,” said Ryan Bayliss-Lane of DGB, the South African distributor of Stella Artois.

South Africans who feel that they might have what it takes to beat out hopefuls to become the South African Draught Master Champion are invited to throw down the gauntlet at www.stellasa.co.za. The top 8 finalists will be announced on the 30^th of September, followed by a final showdown on the 06^th of October – to determine who will take the title of South African Draught Master.

The South African champion will win the title, an exclusive Stella Artois hamper and an all-expenses paid trip to take part in the Stella Artois World Draught Master Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 26^th of October 2011. According to international liquor law, the competition is open to anyone who is 21 years old or over.

Pretty decent stuff I reckon…

After a fairly decent first phase the Name Your Hood campaign has progressed onto naming two new ‘hoods’ in the Cape Town City Bowl with public voting extended until Wednesday 14th September.

The next two neighbourhoods are:

Hood 3: The neighbourhood bordered by Somerset Road, Dock Road, Coen Steytler Street and Buitengracht

Hood 4: The neighbourhood bordered by Annandale Street, Orange Street, Queen Victoria Street, Long Street, Strand Street, Plein Street, St John Street and Hatfield Street.

The process is very simple for the re-naming of our beloved city:

Phase 1: The public can submit names (via the website, www.nameyourhood.co.za or through voting forms which are available in Pam Golding branches around Cape Town).

Phase 2: A panel, which includes Ravi Naidoo of Design Indaba, Africa Melane from CapeTalk567, Andrew Hall of Heritage Western Cape, Natalie Becker, Nik Rabinowitz and others, reviews the names submitted and chooses a shortlist of names (maximum of 10 per neighbourhood)

Phase 3: The public can vote on the shortlist (via the website or by SMS)

The shortlist once again features some pretty creative and meaningful names. For example, Hood 3’s ‘The Foundry’ had this as its motivation: “The Foundry is a creative melting pot. Dotted with vibrant businesses and creative agencies, the district is a crucible of entrepreneurship and original thinking. Walking through the streets, one can feel the white-hot creative energy.”

Another motivation for the area reads: “‘Prestwich’ is to commemorate those who died in and suffered as a result of slavery. It is time we stop ignoring and start remembering while facing the dark, often forgotten chapters of our history.”

Hood 4, meanwhile, has had submissions such as ‘The Gardens’, ‘The Seat’ and ‘The Old City’. With motivations including: “This hood is home to Parliament, Die Tuinhuis (presidential residence), numerous museums showcasing the political history of Cape Town, Government Avenue, Parliament Street, and the Company Gardens, planted by Jan van Riebeeck (first Dutch Commander)” and “Not only are there retail merchants in this area, but historically the shipping merchants called in at the Cape.”

The nominated names are set to endure with valuable support being offered by key stakeholders such as Cape Town Tourism, Cape Town Partnership, Accelerate Cape Town and Wesgro. Local businesses are also showing their support, with Pam Golding Properties, Mr Delivery, Groupon and Vida e Caffe as well as smaller neighbourhood establishments on board.

The Name Your Hood project aims to roll out across the entire city in time. Voting for the two new neighbourhoods can be done online or through the voting booths. So visit www.nameyourhood.co.za and make sure you submit your hood name.

At MyCityByNight we always like to feature a little bit of creative design with a conscience from time to time. The I Was Shot Foundation, a NGO providing photographic skills to underprivileged children equipped with disposable cameras and a brief to capture Cape Town’s culture, have announced the end of the first phase of their 2011 Cape Town programme with an exhibition launch planned for The Grand Café & Beach on 8 September 2011 at 18:30.

The Cape Town underprivileged youth showcase life through a lens… It’s pretty inspiring stuff and one would hope that they could all go on to have successful careers in photography thus enabling them to help themselves to a better quality of life. You know the whole “teach a man to fish” vibe.

I Was Shot In Cape Town has worked with 19 underprivileged youth from Mamelani Projects, photographing key landmarks throughout the city, motivating them to channel their hardships through photography’s creative outlet. Spearheaded by architect and photographer, Bernard Viljoen, these projects enrich and empower the lives of underprivileged youth through photography training and sustainable skills development, for future income and job creation.

I Was Shot in Cape Town consists of two training periods working with 19 youths per group in weekly sessions. The second training phase continues until the end of December 2011.

“We harness photography as a tool for expression and an opportunity to nurture hidden talent among the youth. Life’s moments, significant to an underprivileged child but perhaps forgotten to us, can remind us to appreciate the simple by looking at our beautiful city through their eyes,” adds Bernard Viljoen.

On the launch night, 10 children from the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s empowerment programme, Masidlale Project, will play soulful background music. All proceeds from the photographic exhibition will go towards future empowerment endeavors. The
beneficiaries are Studio_Bernard Viljoen Foundation, Mamelani Projects, I was shot CC and the students from the program.

I think it’s well worth going to check out…

If you’ve been to the V&A Waterfront lately you probably would have seen the Pop Shop, inspired by Design Indaba- a little shop that offers only the most fantastic of local creative wares. Unfortunately, like all good things- it’s run of awesome has to come to an end.

However there is no need to despair because even though Pop Shop, inspired by Design Indaba, will no longer be at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, you will still be able to find your favourite all-South African designer products at Design Indaba’s online shop.

After a rather successful two month pop-up stint, Pop Shop will be relocating to new, currently secret, pastures. So make sure that you pay them a visit before 9pm on Wednesday 31 August 2011, their last day of trading, for great designer products, some of which will be available at super discounted prices.

Some of the amazing local design products at Pop Shop include the gorgeous ceramics of Sootcookie and Imiso Ceramics, fashion from Spilt Milk, Take Care Clothing, bluecollarwhitecollar and Doreen Southwood and of course Recreate’s upcycled furniture or Mielie’s colourfully covetable handbags. And that’s just naming a few!

Follow Pop Shop’s magical trail on Twitter @designindaba to find out where it will pop up next. Also visit www.designindaba.com/shop to find all your favourite local designer products.

Pop Shop is at shop 7236 at the V&A Waterfront, easily accessible from the main entrance.

Pop Shop is open from 9am to 9pm daily.

Street Cred is back again this year, this time rocking the streets of Jozi. As you all know it is the only street culture showcase event in Africa. After last year’s event totally killed at Cape Town Station the organisers have decided to take STR.CRD to the concrete jungle for an even bigger and better event.

The Str.Crd festival celebrates urban culture and the youth, with a special heritage slant, as it is to be held over the Heritage long weekend: 20-24 September 2011, in the Maboneng Precinct (MOAD building 281 Commissioner Str) in down town Johannesburg.

This year Street Cred is going to be launched with an exciting blogging expose. The organisers have decided to give the event more of a social media twist by incorporating what they consider to be “Mzansi’s Most Popular” blogs from PE, CPT, DBN, JHB to simultaneously duel it out on the “interwebs”, to see who can gain the most followers and be crowned the most prolific street bloggers. Unbelievably- they have decided to leave the boys at MyCityByNight off of this list… Utter madness considering that we are clearly the blog with the most Street Cred in South Africa…

Just to prove our point here is the coverage from the event last year… Hell we even had legendary customizer Alex Nash kicking it at MCBN HQ last year watching Ninja Warrior and shit… Could you possibly have more STREET CRED than that??!!

STR.CRD at Cape Town Station

STR.CRD Sneak Peaks 2010

Sportscene is Urban Culture

Alex Nash- Inspired Ingenuity

So apparently 4 blogs which were chosen on some mystical criteria get to battle it out for the title ‘Mzansi’s Most Popular’- whichever team gains the most Fans and Followers using any means at their disposal wins the competition – and walks away with a cash prize of R45k!

Apparently the STR CRD team has hand-picked the cream of SA’s street blogging talent to get South Africa switched on and plugged in to the real urban youth cultures of their city’s streets. Here’s a word of advice… How’s about you guys get switched on or plugged in to what is actually going on in the online world???!! Pfft. Mzanzi’s Finest my ass.

Here are the teams that have been chosen:

Team Jozi: Bloody Sweat Clique [www.strcrd.com/bsc] is Galebowe Mahlatsi, creator of the Thesis Social Jams in Soweto, Justin McGee street fashion photographer and Kitso Moremi, of The Blagg.

Team Cape Town: Bitches Must Know! [www.strcrd.com/bmk] is Paul Ward, social photographer at I AM PAUL WARD (who we quite like) , Nicci St Bruce of City Kids and Hayden Manuel, sneaker freak blogger at Hakesy The Fat Cat

Team Durban: Street Sole Avenue [www.strcrd.com/streetsoleavenue] is Bob Perfect from Durban Is Yours, Sanele Cele of Tempracha and rugby-loving socialite Mthi Msomi.

Team PE: Opinion Feeder [www.strcrd.com/opinionfeeder] is Mikki San, music producer and part of Gun N Lazers, Jonathon Ferrira music photographer and blogger and Tarryn Lee Warner who pinboards at The Floral Coat

Yup… we’ve never heard of them either.

Nonetheless… It is an awesome event and well worth going to check it out, even though the blogs that are representing it have zero street cred at all. Shame it’s not their fault I suppose, just whoever is making the decisions is obviously well out of touch with what is happening on the streets (we hold bricks yo). Still at least you’ll be able to see the best that SA has to offer in terms of urban culture.

Kick it up and enjoy the likes of international artists: Theophilus London, Va$htie and Masta Lee; as well as international guests: Woody (Sneaker Freaker founder and editor), SBTG aka Royalefam (who will be conducting an exclusive 12 person customizing workshop), Levi Maestro (video blogger and tastemaker) and international store PATTA from Amsterdam. Local music acts include The BLK JKS, Khuli Chana, Desmond & the Tutus and many more.

Activities at this year’s Str.Crd include: street ball, skate boarding, graffiti installations and BMX. STR.CRD Sessions brings keynote speakers from the street industry to discuss street smarts vs book smarts and how they turned their love for street culture into commercial success stories.

HGH.STR Fashion will be show casing the latest and hottest sneaker and apparel brands in street fashion and designers from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA).

The Heritage activations this year include, customized city caps, celebrating the culture and heritage of all 9 of South Africa’s provinces, which will be on display, along with the Nash Money x STR.CRD customized sneakers depicting the 11 official cultures – and don’t forget to do your bit for charity by donating your second-hand shoes to our KICK.BIN initiative and thereby gain free access to the event.

Join the campaign! Log on to www.strcrd.com.

Str.Crd 2011 is proudly presented by The Free Agent, an Arts Alive and City of Johannesburg event, in conjunction with media partners: Mahala, Sony Max, DSTV Mobile and Motribe.

Tickets are R150. For more information and to check the programme of events, visit www.strcrd.com. Tickets are for sale at the event and also from Webtickets at a better rate.

Date: 24 September
Place: Maboneng Precinct
Time: 10am – 10 pm
Cost: R150 from Webtickets
Contact: www.strcrd.com

 
Young Supreme is back. Load the awesome video below to find out all the info about this event!

Credits: Captured and edited by Nick Burton Moore & Christina Anne Labuschagne

More about YS: Young Supreme is a premium hip hop night in Cape Town, showcasing the very best in underground hip hop! Drink Specials! Free Pool! Fresh Beatz!

Venue: 69 Hectic on Hope, Cape Town

Who doesnt like chocolate? Certainly not me… I love the stuff. I will put chocolate in and around my face at the first chance I get. This all bodes extremely well as Cape Town is now home to the Capsicum Culinary Studio and it’s specialised chocolate kitchen.

Yes that is indeed correct. The lovely peeps at the Culinary training institution invited me around to come and sample some of the yummiest chocolate inspired edible treats while chocolate expert Executive Chef Alfred Henry talked me and some of the other guests through a little bit of process behind making chocolate. Apart from having near orgasms with every bite of the chocolate goodies, guests also had a chance to learn Chef Alfred’s special macaroon recipe to apply back home (you’re all getting macaroons next time you swing past MCBN HQ).

Capsicum Culinary Studio now offers an 8-week full time Programme in Chocolate Arts and Confectionery, which covers all major facets of being a chocolatier and working with chocolate- including: chocolate tempering, chocolate composition, sugars, production of truffles, moulding chocolate and even chocolate showpieces (think chocolate swans- or don’t). The thing that I thought was the coolest was the fact that those not able to do the full time courses, could choose from a whole range of chocolate short courses that are available to extend their knowledge.

Claudia Katz, CEO of Capsicum Culinary Studio had this to say on the night:

“I’m absolutely delighted to be part of this wonderful achievement for Capsicum Culinary Studio. We’ve planned on doing this for very long and I’m elated that our hard work and especially the hard work of Chef Alfred Henry has paid off. Well done to all and we look forward to having anyone and everyone be part of our new Programme in Chocolate Arts and Confectionery.”

For more information on Capsicum Culinary Studio and the various full time and part time culinary and hospitality programmes
available, call 086 111 CHEF (2433) or visit www.capsicumcooking.co.za.

BOKSBURG TEL: 011 918 2690 • CAPE TOWN TEL: 021 531 6602 • DURBAN TEL: 031 263 2924

JOHANNESBURG TEL: 011 467 1446 • PRETORIA TEL: 012 663 1425

GENERAL ENQUIRIES: 086 111 CHEF (2433) • WEB: http://www.capsicumcooking.co.za/

Capsicum Culinary Studio (Pty) Ltd

We’re all generally quite a lazy bunch… The only time we’re really lured outside to do anything is if there is a promise of:

a) mooiness

b) alcohol

c) food

and

d) a combination of all 3 for a bonus trifecta prize.

South Africa has started to ride the digital wave and now allows us the opportunity to get the latest fashion trends at a fraction of the price when compared to the traditional method of shopping that involves you fighting off other people for the last navy maxi dress in your size. Enter 36Boutiques – SA’s premier online fashion retailer…Now Open All Year Round, 24/7.

The site relaunched late last month to come back cooler than ever with the introduction of constant collections alongside their famous Flash Sales, ensuring that customers have access to a wide selection of local and international brands to meet their desires. From well-known brands and designers to bright, young up-and-coming talent, 36Boutiques caters for a wide market taking all wallet sizes into consideration.

Once logged onto the site you will have the opportunity to compare garments by price, designer, occasion or fit. Your online browsing experience is also fully customizable with the option to personalise your profile by adding your favourite radio station, fashion icon and magazine, review and make comments about products or share them with your friends on your favourite social channels, as well provide the much needed hint to your partner with a lust-have wishlist (take note guys).

All items are beautifully packaged and delivered directly to your door by a professional courier. Another nice touch is the opportunity to receive great discounts on designer brands with the added plus of free membership (so buy that brand your mooiness has been lusting after for a reduced price and give it to her- knowing that she thinks you’ve just shelled out the full sky-high cost and not spent the change on booze and cheap hookers)- eish. cant believe I just wrote that.

For more information visit www.36boutiques.com, @36Boutiques on Twitter or 36Boutiques on Facebook. Feel free to contact 36Boutiques online by filling out the easy to use contact form.

The first phase of the Name Your Hood initiative came to a close on Monday, 8th August, with the democratic selection of 2 new hood names. Little Camissa and The Loop are now set to join the likes of Bokaap, Tamboerskloof and De Waterkant as names given to Cape Town’s unique vibrant city bowl neighbourhoods.

The Name Your Hood project is aimed at finding new and original names for the hoods that we navigate on a daily basis in Cape Town through an inclusive process that asks us the residents to participate in the naming process.

The first hood, ‘Little Camissa’, submitted by Rouen Smit, is the name that received the most votes for the area bordered by Kloof Nek Road, Camp Street, Molteno Road and Belluvue St. The spine of this area is upper Kloof Street. An eclectic mix of vintage and modern, the Kloof Street ‘hood’ has its own eccentric personality: a laid-back air fusing old-world charm and urban-cool.

Mr Smit explained his motivation for the name, saying: “The area is just a small part of where many Camissa fountains from Cape Town burst into the open – providing clean water. So it’s just ‘Little Camissa’ – Little Place of Sweet Waters.” Pretty cool name, I think….It’s very little Italy, capiche?

‘The Loop’, meanwhile, was the name given to the neighbourhood between Buitengracht and Loop, Strand and Buitensingel St. This particular community is abuzz with creative energy even though the resident traders of yesteryear have all but disappeared leaving only their historic storefronts behind. The winning name was submitted by Celeste Van Dijk and she says her motivation for the name included several reasons, including the fact that “the boundary streets form a loop and Bree Street was made wider to allow wagons to make U-turns or “loop” around. “Loop” is the Afrikaans word for walk and this hood is made for walkin’!”

Valuable support has been offered by key stakeholders such as Cape Town Tourism, Cape Town Partnership, Accelerate Cape Town and Wesgro, which will see the names established and set to endure. Local businesses are also showing their support, with Pam Golding Properties, Mr Delivery, Groupon and Vida e Café, as well as other smaller neighbourhood establishments (including MyCityByNight) all on board. On completion of the naming process and in partnership with Cape Town Tourism and Creative Cape Town, the project will see new tourist maps printed and distributed throughout the City to include the new neighbourhood names.

Bruce Good, MD of Name Your Hood, is delighted with the names. “We couldn’t have hoped for better, more original and relevant names for the first two neighbourhoods. We hoped that through the naming project the colourful history of Cape Town would be recognised and what better name than ‘Little Camissa’. The Camissa river is the reason behind human settlement of the Cape Town “City Bowl” and was the lifeblood of the area.  We also love that ‘The Loop’ signifies the reason behind the width of Bree Street. The public response has been superb.”

Keep an eye out for our own little Name Your Hood promo feature coming up soon (don’t worry, we’ll let you know how to get involved). The Name Your Hood project aims to roll out across the entire city over time. Two new neighbourhoods are now open for submissions. Submissions can be made online or through a number of voting booths which will be available in participating shops throughout the city. So visit www.nameyourhood.co.za and make sure you submit your uniquely Capetonian neighbourhood name.