Discover promising young artists at the Ekurhuleni Arts & Wine Festival

For the third year running, Ekurhuleni will become a hub of activity as the Ekurhuleni Arts and Wine Festival takes over.

Formerly called the Wine & Whisky Festival, the two-day celebration will run from Friday to Saturday, 7 to 8 September, and has been expanded this year to include the world of art – a must-visit this month.

After attending an event at Ville de Paris in 2014, Tshepang Lutshaba, CEO, Asakhe Events, was inspired to start a celebration of all things wine and whiskey right here in South Africa. “It was my dream to host the same event when I got back to my own beautiful city.”

While Paris may have been her initial inspiration, it’s clear that the festival today has a distinctly local edge and works hard to build up the community around it.

“The event first started in 2016 and it took place at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni. Two days before the event, we hosted a workshop to present owners of small businesses within hospitality with an opportunity to meet top distillers, wineries, and professional chefs to teach them about food pairing.

"We also trained unemployed youth to act as runners and promoters during the event’s build up,” says Tshepang.

Building on the success of their inaugural event, the Ekurhuleni Arts and Wine festival moved to the Protea Hotel by Marriott OR Tambo last year, where it will again take place this year.

With its new name, Tshepang believes that the festival will work even harder to empower those involved this year.

“When we hosted the workshops ahead of the festival, we noticed that youth in the arts industry were also dealing with the challenges of marketing and showcasing themselves. So we decided to reimagine the festival as a place where we can celebrate wineries from the Cape, while also providing a platform to assist upcoming artists. It has always been our passion to uplift and educate the youth from Ekurhuleni.”

With a promise of delicious South African wines, food pairings, and, of course, performances and showcases from the most promising artists and musicians to be coming out of Ekurhuleni, the two-day triumph is an incredible way to support South Africa and have a great time.

• Tickets to the Ekurhuleni Arts and Wine Festival are available at Computicket. 

This article was originally published in the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guide. Visit Yourneighbourhood.co.za