V&A Waterfront shares festive December line-up

Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre will open from 9am to 10pm during this time, and trade on Christmas Day is optional. Visitors who prefer a tranquil shopping experience should visit Victoria Wharf before 10am or after 7pm to avoid the festive rush.

The Waterfront’s home of craft and design, the Watershed, will feature some extra-special festive cheer this year, with musical performances and festive-themed food vendors in the evenings from Friday, 15 to Wednesday, 20 December.

The market will have extended trading hours, opening from 10am to 8pm from Saturday, 16 December through to Sunday, 7 January 2018. The exceptions will be Sunday, 24 December and Sunday, 31 December when it will close at 6pm. The Watershed will not be open on Christmas Day.

Tis the season of giving

In keeping with the spirit of the season of giving, a Cape Town charity will benefit from the proceeds of a gift wrapping service that will be available within the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre from Saturday, 16 to Sunday, 24 December.

Shoppers can have their gifts beautifully wrapped for between R5 and R20 (depending on the gift size), safe in the knowledge that others will also benefit from this. Proceeds from this year’s gift wrapping service will go to the Homestead Projects for Street Children.

Future Park: Watch your drawings come to life

Interactive digital technology will breathe life into children’s drawings at teamLab’s Future Park exhibition at the V&A Waterfront’s Watershed from  until 31 January.

The exhibition has seen more than four million children across the world play in an ever-changing digital environment while they develop their fine motor skills. The exhibition’s fun with interactive activities that will captivate the imagination and introduce young ones to the wonders of technology by using scanners and sensors to make each child’s colourful drawings come to life in a digital universe.

At the sketch aquarium, children can colour in fish and other water creatures, scan them and watch as they swim about with other children’s creations across a floor-to-ceiling digital screen.

Children will also encounter a sketch town where they can draw a car and see it drive around in a town; as well as a light-ball orchestra filled with large balls that change colour with music as they touch it; a colourful game of hopscotch, a town they build and digitally connect, as well as a table where little people come alive.

After the Cape Town run, the exhibition will move to Johannesburg in 2018. For more information go to www.futureparksa.co.za or visit the Computicket website to buy tickets. Special family tickets are available, and all activities are included in the cost.

• Date:              Until  31 January 2018
• Time:             10am to 7pm (seven days a week; closed on 25 December)
• Venue:           Jubilee Hall, The Watershed, V&A Waterfront
• Tickets:           Available from Computicket:
•                          Adults and children: R130*
•                          Family package (2 adults, 2 children): R460
•                          Pensioners (over 60) and students (with identification): R115
•                         *Free entrance to children under 18 months and shorter than 73 cm
• Contact:          V&A Info Centre on az.oc.tnorfretaw@ofni or 021 408 7600

Grand Moët & Chandon Christmas Tree

Moët & Chandon are adding a little glitz to the festive feeling around the Silo district this year, installing a larger-than-life Christmas tree made entirely of Moët bottles in the heart of the District. This unique and larger-than-life tree will remain in the Silo district for the festive season until Thursday, 4 January, so be sure to drop by!

• Date:              Until Thursday, 4 January 2017
• Venue:           Silo Square, V&A Waterfront
• Cost:              Free

Meet Santa in Santa’s Workshop

With a ho-ho-ho and a belly full of fun, Santa and his elves will be at Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre this festive season. From 10am to 4pm from Saturday, 9 to Sunday, 24 December, children of all ages can come down to Santa’s Workshop at the Centre Court where they can meet Santa himself and tell him all their Christmas wishes. Santa will take a short break around lunchtime, but be sure to come back later if you miss him the first time around!

Please note that a professional photographer will not be on-site to take images. Parents and guardians are advised to bring their own cameras for photographs.

• Date:             Saturday, 9 to Sunday, 24 December
• Time:            10pm to 4pm (with a 45-minute break around lunchtime)
• Venue:          Centre Court in Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre
• Cost:             Free

Magic of Christmas Show

Add a dash of Christmas magic to your holiday season, with a family-friendly Christmas Vignette at the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre at the V&A Waterfront! Held daily from Monday, 11 to Thursday, 14 December, the 20-minute show will give visitors a wonderful, nostalgic, ‘feel good’ Christmas performance to entertain the whole family!

Join the Elves and other festive characters like Merry Clause, the Candy Cane Dancers, traditional Carollers, and the beautiful Snow Fairy in Victoria Wharf, as they whisk everyone away on a wonderful Christmas journey filled with festive joy and celebration.

• Date:              Monday, 11 December to Thursday, 14 December 2017
• Time:             8.15am to 9pm
• Venue:          Upper Level, Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre (near Entrances 2 & 4; Centre Court)
• Cost:              None

Zip Zap Circus performances

The Zip Zap Circus returns to the V&A Waterfront from Thursday, 14 to Tuesday, 19 December, with a thrilling and whimsical show – the acrobatic artists are sure to keep you spellbound! Performing in the V&A Amphitheatre from 4pm to 5pm each day, Zip Zap’s jugglers, trapeze artists and contortionists will leave both young and old enthralled.

• Date:              Thursday, 14 December to Tuesday, 19 December 2017
• Time:             4pm to 5pm
• Venue:          V&A Amphitheatre 
• Cost:              Free

Fun, festive experience at the Watershed

The Watershed, home of African craft and design, will also be home to elegant festive décor and cheer this season. The market will host a range of musical performances, including theatre schools, trio bands and choirs, which will provide wonderful ambient music during the evenings, from Friday, 16 Decemeber to Wednesday, 20 December starting at 4pm. An array of food vendors will keep shoppers well-fed during their Christmas shopping.

• Dates:           Friday, 15 to Wednesday, 20 December
• Times:          4pm to 7.30pm
• Venue:          The Watershed, V&A Waterfront
• Cost:             Free

The Salvation Army Band (Take the Stage performance)

Providing a platform for emerging South African musicians and musical ensembles to showcase their talent, up-and-coming artists will take to the V&A Amphitheatre stage from 7pm to 8pm on select summer evenings, in a free-to-attend series of musical performances at the V&A Waterfront.

The first in a series of festive season–themed Take the Stage performances, the Salvation Army Brass Band will perform at the V&A Amphitheatre on Thursday, 21 December. With a vibrant musical tradition, the Salvation Army use their musicians to reach out to fellow young South Africans to address community issues such as drug addiction and poverty.

A little-known fact is that many well-known musicians have started their careers as members of the Salvation Army Band, including Hugh Masekela, Professor Mzilikazi Khumalo and the director of the South African Naval Band, Commander Kenny Liebbrandt.

• Date:             Thursday, 21 December 2017
• Time:            7pm to 8pm
• Venue:          V&A Amphitheatre
• Cost:             Free

Donveno Band (Take the Stage performance)

Taking the stage on Friday, 22 December is Donveno Prins, who will perform as part of his Donveno Band for Waterfront visitors. A born-and-bred Elsies River performer, Donveno started his musical journey at the tender age of 15, performing with local jazz and gospel bands in and around Cape Town.

He has since gone on to perform with renowned local artists such as Lloyd Cele, Loyiso Bala, Jimmy Dludlu, Victor Masondo, Tony Schilder, Judith Sephuma, Ernie Smith, Wanda Baloy, Alistair Izobel and PJ Powers at the World AIDS Day Concert, Emo Adams, Loukmaan Adams, Hemelbesem. He is currently the resident saxophonist in Jonathan Butler’s South African Band.

• Date:              Friday, 22 December 2017
• Time:             7pm to 8pm
• Venue:          V&A Amphitheatre
• Cost:              Free

Cameron Ward (Take the Stage performance)

Popular jazz musician Cameron Ward will perform at the Amphitheatre on Saturday, 23 December, from 4.45 to 5.45pm, for festive season shoppers making a last-minute Christmas present dash!

​Cameron is widely considered a jazz maestro, having undergone a meteoric rise from performing on the streets of Lotus River, to playing on the world stages of the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, and the Back to Black Jazz Fest in both London and Brazil. This worldwide recognition testifies to his incredible musical talent.

• Date:              Saturday, 23 December 2017
• Time:             4.45pm to 5.45
• Venue:          V&A Amphitheatre
• Cost:              Free

Smart Car presents: V&A Summer Sessions with Prime Circle

The V&A Waterfront Summer Sessions, presented by the new smart car, are back to liven up the summer. Taking place at the V&A Amphitheatre between 7pm and 8pm on select evenings, this much-loved musical event offers acoustic performances by well-known names against views of Table Mountain and the city – making this the perfect way to spend a summer’s evening.

Performing on Tuesday, 26 December is the legendary Prime Circle, often regarded as South African rock royalty.

• Date:              Tuesday, 26 December 2017
• Time:             7pm to 8pm
• Venue:          V&A Amphitheatre
• Cost:              Free