Cape Town Minstrel Carnival

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Our Cape Town minstrel carnival - also known as the Cape Coons parade or Kaapse Klopse - is the day when the marching minstrel bands take to the City streets.

It's known as Tweede Nuwe Jaar amongst the Malay community and is rooted deep in Cape Town's slave history and culture.

Every New Year, on January 2nd, thousands of minstrels take to the streets. It's a dazzling display of colourful satin uniforms, shiny parasols, painted faces and foot-tapping banjo tunes that accompany the traditional folk songs.

It's a a noisy, joyous and disorganised affair, but well worth a visit!

Here's a little taste of the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival!

The exuberant, umbrella-flourishing caperers and banjo-strumming, satin-clad crooners are the eye-catching prelude to a much larger event - the month-long festival which sees 'sing-offs' every Saturday between the different Minstrel groups.

Each band of 'Klopse' is in fact a well-rehearsed male choir, and the final winners are the members of whichever troupe scoops top honours when the Festival draws to a close in early February. Troupes are judged on costume, singing and dancing, and competition is fierce!

The festival (also known as the Cape Town New Year Karnaval) dates back to the 19th century. Cape slaves were allowed only one day off for the whole year (raw deal, huh?!) and that was the 2nd January, presumably when their masters were so busy nursing their own hangovers that they felt they could manage without helpers.

The original carnival probably did not look much like today's tradition of face make-up, colourful costumes and ribald song-and-dance routines. These were inspired by visiting Al Jolson and other American minstrels in the late 19th century.

When and Where for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival?

The main parade begins at 12 noon on Darling St, which runs in front of Old City Hall. It finishes at Green Point Stadium. The actual Cape Minstrel competition, when , runs each Saturday night throughout January and early February. – it makes for a unique Capetonian experience.

If you miss the main parade, there are chances to catch the minstrels in action on these nights at Green Point Stadium, Athlone Stadium and Vygerkraal Stadium

Important Point/s

The parade attracts tens of thousands of spectators, so be sure to stake your claim to a place early, despite the relatively late starting time of midday.

Take plenty of water - the heat is intense and you won't want to give up your prize viewpoint to go in search of refreshments

If you have younger chidren, you may want to give this one a miss - standing waiting in the heat and crowds may cause parent meltdown (!), not to meneion the relative scarcity of clean public bathroom facilities.

As always in crowds, keep the valuables you carry to a minimum and always keep your belongings in sight.