Commemoration Day - 1st December
At midnight of 1 December 1834, the Cape celebrated the formal end of slavery. Church services and general celebrations marked the occasion, with bonfires being lit on Table Mountain and on Signal Hill and fireworks being set off at the harbour. This became an annual day of remembrance which connects to the New Year carnival still celebrated each year.
This year, an initiative led by the Prestwich Place Project Committee and the District Six Museum, aims to call attention to this often-forgotten chapter of our history. A broader network of participating individuals and organisations have been drawn in to plan for a public commemoration aimed at developing public awareness of forgotten elements of history, telling the stories of forgotten places of the city, and reflecting on their importance and place in our current lives. This will be done through music and song, speeches, poetry and performance, enacted in a procession through the city.
The public are invited to join this initiative on Thursday 30 November, starting at 21h30 at the site of the Slave Tree in Spin Street (just behind the Slave Lodge). The procession will then proceed through Adderley Street into Greenmarket Square which will be the next stop; into Wale Street, up to Rose Street in the Bokaap and then to Strand Street. A small vigil will be kept at Prestwich Street from 23h00, and this group will then join the larger procession at the corner of Strand and Rose Streets and walk together to the Quarry at Strand Street where participants will gather around a large bonfire at midnight, marking the 1 December. Those who are not able to join for the entire procession are invited to join at the various points along the way. Please call the District Six Museum at 466 7200, or Michael Weeder at the Prestwich Place Project Committee at 462 6355 for a detailed map, information about transport or any other information which you might need.
This year, an initiative led by the Prestwich Place Project Committee and the District Six Museum, aims to call attention to this often-forgotten chapter of our history. A broader network of participating individuals and organisations have been drawn in to plan for a public commemoration aimed at developing public awareness of forgotten elements of history, telling the stories of forgotten places of the city, and reflecting on their importance and place in our current lives. This will be done through music and song, speeches, poetry and performance, enacted in a procession through the city.
The public are invited to join this initiative on Thursday 30 November, starting at 21h30 at the site of the Slave Tree in Spin Street (just behind the Slave Lodge). The procession will then proceed through Adderley Street into Greenmarket Square which will be the next stop; into Wale Street, up to Rose Street in the Bokaap and then to Strand Street. A small vigil will be kept at Prestwich Street from 23h00, and this group will then join the larger procession at the corner of Strand and Rose Streets and walk together to the Quarry at Strand Street where participants will gather around a large bonfire at midnight, marking the 1 December. Those who are not able to join for the entire procession are invited to join at the various points along the way. Please call the District Six Museum at 466 7200, or Michael Weeder at the Prestwich Place Project Committee at 462 6355 for a detailed map, information about transport or any other information which you might need.
posted by _ at 8:48 AM
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