Celebrate Southern Africa at the Cheese & Grain

From condiments to crafts, from books to beauty products, and from koeksisters to the flavours of the Kalahari: a true celebration of everything Southern African awaits those who attend the Celebrate Southern Africa Market 2017 taking place on Sunday 18th June, at the Cheese & Grain.

This is a high-priority event for your diary if you have travelled to Southern Africa, or still want to go, or even if you are simply interested in the African sub-continent and its varied cultural attractions. Of course, it is also an excellent place for Southern Africans living in the UK to meet, mingle, and catch up.  The Celebrate Southern Africa Market will offer over 60 stalls and traders selling Southern African crafts, gifts, decor and food: all in an atmosphere filled with the music, languages and African culture.

Come and celebrate with friends at an event that will be truly lekker (and if you don’t know what that word means now, you will know afterwards! It stands for everything enjoyable, fun and typically Southern African). The market will feature products or services from small to large businesses operating in the UK that celebrate Southern Africa, as well as from Southern African businesses who have outlets in the UK.  In addition, there will be hot food on sale, as well as cold snacks, baked goods and treats to take home to enjoy.

Bring along your family and friends to give them a real taste of Southern African flavours, listen to music and feast on that which celebrates the best of what the sub-continent has to offer. There will also be items from other southern African countries such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Swaziland, Namibia and Malawi to explore.

The organisers insist that all traders strive to feature new, affordable, and interesting products or services that showcase the best of the Southern African spirit.

The history of the event goes back to a small get-together comedy show and braai (barbecue) in Gloucester. It was such a success that many supporters asked for a larger event where Southern Africans could gather to reminisce and share their collective culture, cuisine and music in an atmosphere epitomising the hospitality of the countries at the southern tip of Africa. Soon a number of businesses started networking around that idea, and thus the Celebrate Southern Africa Market was born.

The 2016 Celebrate South Africa market was attended by more than 2,000 people from around the country.  It has inspired hosts Dawn Denton, Lizette Carter and Brendon Berg to make the 2017 Celebrate Southern Africa even bigger and better than the previous one.