Music Festivals | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* ‘Cape Town’s most stylish hotels’ feature in the Telegraph Travel article, which focuses on more than just the Mother City’s hotels. Given Cape Town’s status of World Design Capital 2014, Woodstock, Bree Street, and Long Street are recommended for arts, sculptures, jewellery, and crafts. Hemelhuijs and The Pot Luck Club are recommended restaurants. The Mount Nelson, One&Only Cape Town, Cape View, The Clarendon, and Ellerman House are recommended as accommodation establishments.

* Six of Africa’s twelve top music festivals are hosted in South Africa, and include Oppikoppi (in Limpopo province, the largest local music festival); Up the Creek (in Swellendam); Cape Town International Jazz Festival; Splashy Fen (at Underberg); AfrikaBurn (in North Cape province); and Rocking the Daisies (in Darling).

* National soccer team Bafana Bafana arrived in Cape Townlast weekend, in preparation for the African Nations Championship, which kicks off at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

* James Romanow, writing in the New Mexico Leader Post, says that drinking a House of Mandela wine is a fitting tribute to the late Nelson Mandela.

* A manual of information published by (£30 million a year budget) Visit Britain, which was targeted at accommodation establishments and tourism players in the UK to guide them in dealing with tourists from around the world, has been criticised for ‘racial stereotyping‘! For example, the manual describes: Continue reading →

A unique community project has seen the residents of Franschhoek club together to ensure that the gourmet village retains the grand piano which was brought into the village on loan six years ago, and can continue to be used for concerts in the NG Church.

Talented and passionate classical music performer Christopher Duigan brought the grand piano to Franschhoek, when he started putting on two Music Festivals per year. The Kawai originally cost R 270 000. To retain the grand piano in the village, individual keys are being sold at R 1750 each. Donors receive free tickets to 10 concerts over a two year period.

A benefit of keeping the piano in Franschhoek is that one can look forward to the outstanding concerts by Duigan, who was named a Steinway Artist earlier this year, keeping company with Diana Krall, Lang Lang, Abdullah Ibrahim, Keith Jarret, and also Arthur Rubinstein, Franz Liszt, and Richard Wagner, amongst others.

Whale Cottage has supported the wonderful concerts that Duigan has organised for and played in Franschhoek, and this project, and therefore bought the Middle C key.

There are only a handful of keys on the Franschhoek Grand Piano left for sale. Contact Karen Minnaar, tel (021) 876-2431.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com