Residents can expect a much “quieter” show

The annual Makhado Show is taking place from 31 July to 2 August, and while some look forward to a great weekend of entertainment, others dread having to endure three sleepless nights once again.

Over the past couple of years, the show organisers came under severe criticism from residents specifically complaining about the noise and loud music keeping them up until the early hours of the morning for the duration of the three-day event.

This year, however, the show organisers, Makoya Multi Media, stated that they did not wish to see a repeat of what had happened in the past and went to great lengths to minimise the impact of the noise on residents. “We have changed the stage setup to face Thohoyandou and we will be making use of directional sound control this year. This entails that the sound speakers are facing away from town to minimise the noise,” said Mr Hangwe Netshifhefhe of the Makoya team.

Tens of thousands of patrons are expected to visit the show over the three-day period, the majority of whom will converge on the show grounds on Saturday for the popular music festival. The music festival is regarded as the highlight of the show and previously started at six o’clock on Saturday evening. In addition to facing the sound stage away from town, the Makoya team also scheduled the music festival earlier in the day to avoid performances continuing into the early hours of Sunday morning. “We will start the music festival at eleven o’clock on Saturday morning, with the planned programme to end at midnight,” said Netshifhefhe. He said, however, that he suspected that some people would struggle to keep to the programme, but that they would strive to do so.

This year, the Makoya team also put more emphasis on family participation at the show. In this regard, they also went to great lengths to beef up security in terms of crowd control. “We are going to have more pay points and better barricaded roads for people to enter and leave the show. We have also appointed 280 additional personnel for peace keeping and crowd control on Saturday. We want our visitors to feel safe and steer away from the perception that the show is there merely for people to go on a drinking spree,” said Netshifhefhe. In this regard, he added, they have established better co-operation between the SANDF, SAPS, local emergency services and the traffic department. “This year, there will also be designated assembly points in case of an emergency. These points will be communicated over the PA system,” said Netshifhefhe.

With reference to the perception that the show is only there for people to go on a drinking spree, the Makoya team was almost not granted a liquor license this year. “Our liquor license was initially denied, but we were able to resolve the matter and the license was granted,” said Netshifhefhe. The granting of the license, however, came with strict conditions. “We are no longer allowed our normal trading hours, with all liquor sales to seize at midnight. No under-age drinking will be allowed and drinking will be restricted to designated areas only. Anyone caught drinking outside these areas will be arrested on the spot,” said Netshifhefhe.

This year’s Makhado Show will kick off on 31 July with the gates opening at 09:00. The entry fee for Thursday and Friday is R50 per person, while admission for children younger than six is free. An entry fee of R80 per adult and R50 for children between 7 and 13 will be charged on Saturday, while children under six can still enter for free. The gates will close at midnight on all three days.

Some of the artists lined up for this year’s show include Kuniyuki Takahashi, Jack Zwarts and several local South African deejays, including Udu-Nyoso and Sir Makleker.

Apart from the music and entertainment for the adults, there will be lots of activities for the young ones. These include a merry-go-round, swings, car drifting (magusheshe), 4x4 challenges, candy shops, biker displays and many more.

Also read:

08 August 2014 - Outrage over show

News - Date: 31 July 2014

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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