Plans for the long weekend? Vaccinated people get free entry to these Western Cape museums

Fully and partially vaccinated people will get free entry at numerous affiliated museums in the Western Cape during the Heritage Day long weekend. 

The province's cultural affairs and sports minister Anroux Marais made the announcement recently, saying the province's affiliated museums will grant both those who are fully and partially vaccinated free access when they present their vaccination card. 

“Usually visitors pay an entry fee to access our museums across the province, but to encourage all to get vaccinated, we are happy to waive this fee in a bid to increase our vaccination numbers, while promoting our affiliated museums as we now contain, adapt and recover in the Western Cape,” said Marais.

She said while the province hopes to promote its affiliated museums through this campaign, it also commemorates SA's cultural heritage.  

“Cultural heritage goes beyond what we find in our built environment, such as buildings, towns and monuments. It includes our overall collective traditions and inherited lived expressions through oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, language and crafts.”

The following museums are free to those who are vaccinated:

• Bartolomeu Dias Museum (Mossel Bay);
• Beaufort West Museum;
• CP Nel Museum (Oudtshoorn);
• Drostdy Museum (Swellendam);
• Genadendal Museum;
• Great Brak River Museum;
• Hout Bay Museum;
• Jan Danckaert Museum (Porterville);
• Montagu Museum;
• Old Harbour Museum (Hermanus);
• Oude Kerk Volksmuseum (Tulbagh);
• SA Fisheries Museum (Laaiplek);
• Stellenbosch Museum;
• Togryers Museum (Ceres);
• Wellington Museum;
• Wheat Industry Museum (Moorreesburg); and
• Worcester Museum

Marais appealed to the public to get vaccinated as soon as they can.

“The sooner we can reach our vaccination targets, the sooner we can start safely opening up more of the cultural sector, particularly the arts industry, to start having live audiences at events,” she said.

“We must do this to support the live events, as well as our artists and sportspeople, in our province.”