Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* The Dutch government is sponsoring World Design Capital 2014 with a R4,5 million investment through the ‘Department of Design’ event, to be held at Provenance Auction House in Vrede Street in Cape Town from 8 – 27 July. A Dutch economic trade mission will visit Cape Town and the event, which consists of workshops, presentations, debates, and activity relating to sustainability, focusing on water management, transport and logistics, agriculture and farming, health and science, and the creative industries in particular.
* R4,7 million has been spent to upgrade the facilities of the Department of Home Affairs’ passport control counter at Cape Town International, in the interest of improved service, reports The New Age. Passport control has been moved closer to the Duty Free section of the airport. An automated queuing system with turnstiles has been introduced.
* Start-up Cape Town company Over has won first prize in the U-Start Conference in Milan, its app allowing one to place text and artwork over photographs. The app has been downloaded 8 million times since it was developed in 2012. Western Cape Minister of Economic Development, Finance and Tourism Alan Winde congratulated the team for its ‘excellent advertising for tech innovation in the Western Cape’. The tech sector in the Western Cape employs 30000 staff, and adds R3 billion to the economy of the province. (received via media release from Minister Winde’s office)
* The Franschhoek Literary Festival has finally sent a media release about its Wine Writers competition, winners having been announced at its function on Friday evening already! The judging committee consisted of Cape Talk broadcaster John Maytham (chairman of the judging panel in the past but not designated as such in the release), chef and cookbook writer Marlene van der Westhuizen, and British wine columnist for The Independent and contributor to international wine publications Anthony Rose (appearing to have chaired the panel). Jacques van Zyl won the Long Form category, with his entry entitled ‘From O’Keefe to Lismore and back, in high heels’, published in Land n Sand digital magazine. The judges praised its beautiful writing and construction. Tim James won the Short Form category, for six blog posts on his Grape blog. His work was praised for its easy and unpretentious writing style whilst focusing on the wine. The entries for the two categories of the competition were evaluated blind! Judging criteria included writing quality, technical accuracy, good storytelling, consistent excellence (in the Short Form category), and fresh perspectives and insights. (received via media release from Franschhoek Literary Festival)
20
3070
27k
20