Dr Jonathan Butler to headline the launch of a new sustainable community tourism initiative

Jonathan Butler, who was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stellenbosch, will headline the launch of a new initiative to promote tourism and its economic and social benefits in less-resourced communities on Saturday 29 March at Athlone High School.  Down Klipfontein is the brainchild of Joey Fourie, a matriculant of the school, who has been engaged in tourism initiatives for more than twenty years.

‘I’m excited about this tourism project which will be a learning and discovery tourism programme that integrates history, education, culture, local food and wine, music and other art forms into one immersive, memorable experience’ said an animated Fourie.

Expanding on the elements of the curated experience, Fourie explained that it would combine his experience in home-hosted dinners where tourists are hosted by local families with Cape Malay Cuisine central, the Daily Music Show which provides platforms for musicians and poets to build international markets, and a new tour route ‘Down Klipfontein’.  Starting at the District Six Museum, the tour will take participants on a route past the Groote Schuur Hospital, the Mostert Mill and Red Cross War Memorial Hospital on the formerly ‘white’ side of town, to apartheid-era memorials of the Trojan Horse massacre, Coline Williams / Robert Waterwitch Memorial, the Gugulethu Seven and Amy Biehl memorials, as well as other sites of local significance ranging from the Joseph Stone Auditorium, Athlone Stadium, Athlone High School, the Saartjie Baartman Centre and the Wembley Roadhouse.

Fourie said that tourists would also be introduced to young people engaged in outstanding creative work despite the odds, and against the backdrop of their predecessors from the Cape Flats who have achieved national and international recognition notwithstanding their growing up in marginalised, apartheid era environments.

There are few better examples of such achievement than Jonathan Butler who, with his roots in Belgravia Estate, has become a sought-after global jazz musician, arguably the Down Klipfontein’s greatest exports.

Appropriately, the launch event at 19.30 on Saturday 29 March will take place under the banner of ‘The Art of Possibility’ and will feature a number of other local artists including the Ramon Alexander Jazz Quartet, poets Diana Ferrus, Khadija Tracey Heeger, Michael Weeder and Chris Ferndale, Kim Blanche Adonis performing a sketch from Mike van Graan’s My Fellow South Africans, Odwa Bongo playing the Uhadi bow and live painting by Kenny, the Artist in Athlone. Tyrone Appollis, now living Down Klipfontein, also makes an appearance. A highlight will be the collaboration between alumni of the Jazz Yard Academy and The Little Giants members.

‘I’m looking forward not only to tourists having a unique experience, but also to Capetonians and Corporates crossing apartheid’s spatial geographies that continue to divide us’ concluded Fourie.

Tickets are R150 and may be purchased through Athlone Secondary.  For further information, see https://downklipfontein.com or send an email to info@downklipfontein.com or WhatsApp +27848807012.

Issued by Joey Fourie

M: 084 8807012