Cape Cultural Collective unites community with R50 000 raised at Darling Buds of May fundraiser
Members of the Cape Cultural Collective ensemble for the Darling Buds of May fundraiser are Charles Louw, from Manenberg, whose keyboard jazz solos mesmerised the crowd, and Jonathan Coetzee from Cape Town, who added depth on bass guitar.
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The Cape Cultural Collective (CCC) raised more than R50 000 at its Darling Buds of May fundraiser on at a private residence in Wynberg.
Chairperson of the CCC board of directors, Zenariah Barends, said the event celebrated not only music and performance, but also the Cape Cultural Collective’s nearly two decades of promoting social cohesion and development through the arts.
Barends said that the benefit concert was vital for the organisation.
“Every ticket bought, and every person in this room, represents a commitment to the idea that the arts can bridge the divides of our past and build a more unified future. The proceeds from this evening will go directly towards sustaining our ongoing programmes,” she said.
Setting the tone for the evening was an upbeat amapiano dance by the Likhwezi Arts Project.
The Likhwezi Arts Project had the crowd on their feet. With their teachers, Pamela Mtiti, also director of the group, and Anele Xhali, are the performers from Gugulethu, Nyanga and New Crossroads.
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Karen Thorne and Tessa Gawith performed a version of Die Stem they had written as members of a trio called the Koeksisters during the End Conscription Campaign (ECC), which had opposed mandatory military service for white men during apartheid.
The CCC’s own Rosa choir followed this with the national anthem of a democratic South Africa, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, as well as a rendition of Stand By Me.
The Rosa choir, who are due to enter the studio for their first professional recording on May 23, later sang a version of Ndisondela Kuwe.
The smooth voices of Cindy Gibbon, Alex Benjamin, and Thami Baba got the audience feeling nostalgic and ready to dance with songs including At Last, Fly Me to the Moon, and Vul’Indlela. Poets Chris Ferndale and Vusumuzi Mpofu, who also served as MC, rendered some of their soul-stirring work.
Chris’s works, The Harlequins are Dancing, A Short Walk to the Taxi, Mixed Masala and Khoi-Blessing left the audience in awe.
All artists were accompanied by a live band made up of CCC ensemble members Razak Johnson on guitar, Charles Louw on keyboard, Jonathan Coetzee on bass, and Carlo Fabe on drums.
For more information, email [email protected] or visit Cape Cultural Collective.