City transport to help you dance the night away in the CBD
The Absa Joburg City Festival promises to enthral revellers with loads of entertainment and make transit to venues easier across the City from 2 to 5 October.
The festival is a celebration of the regenerated Joburg City, anchored by 10 main performance venues and dozens of fringe venues. The festival takes place across 11 inner-city districts and it is based on the use of public transport. The Rea Vaya bus and festival shuttles will be used to ferry revellers from dedicated parking areas to the various venues.
Spokesperson for the festival, Gerald Garner says there will be an integrated transport solution that will enable people to party the night away, without worrying about driving and parking.
“With an Absa Joburg City Festival transport pass, you can park your car safely, hop on a bus or shuttle and travel to the show of your choice in a chilled fashion, while taking in the amazing sights of the city. All the festival venues and districts are within walking distance of Rea Vaya bus stations or our Newtown shuttle stops. So the first thing to do for the Absa Joburg City Festival is to buy your transport pass on-line from the festival website… Go to www.joburgcityfest.co.za/get-around.”
Choose your parking area and buy a parking pass.
Now buy your integrated transport pass that includes a Rea Vaya card, pre-loaded with travel funds and a Newtown shuttle wristband (you can buy this for any specific day or for the entire festival). Print out your online ticket and redeem this for the physical transport pass and wristband at your designated parking area or at the Rea Vaya bus station in Rissik Street opposite the Gautrain Johannesburg Park Station.
Garner says apart from the many great concerts and events for the Absa Joburg City Festival, the transport pass is ideal for anyone travelling to associated events such as Vodacom In the City on Mary Fitzgerald Square on Friday 3 October or the Springbok versus All Blacks game at Ellis Park Station on Saturday 4 October.
Normal Rea Vaya’s daytime routes will be available during the festival.
From Milpark take the T3 or C4 bus to Library Gardens in the city (it passes Constitution Hill and Park Station). If you want to get to Maboneng or Ellis Park take C1 from Library Gardens. If you want to get to Newtown or Ferreirastown (Western Edge) walk one block down to Library Gardens West station and take the bus to Chancellor House station. Newtown Shuttle buses will run from Chancellor House West station to The Sheds @1Fox, Bassline and Newtown Junction on 3, 4 and 5 October.
Don’t despair if this sounds complicated. It is simple and easy to use. The festival transport map will be released soon.
A special night time Rea Vaya festival service will run from 7pm till midnight on the evenings of Friday 3 and Saturday 4 October.
This route will run from Milpark past Constitution Hill through Braamfontein, past Park Station and down to Library Gardens. Another loop will connect from Library Gardens to Absa Campus (Carlton Station) Maboneng, Ellis Park, back to Maboneng, Absa Campus, Library Gardens, Chancellor House (connect here to the Newtown Shuttle). From Chancellor House the loop is repeated continuously.
On Saturday 4 October, Absa will make parking available for free at its campus (172 Fox Street).
This parking is limited and available to Absa card holders only on a first come, first serve basis.
Now go to town with the Absa Joburg City Festival.
Main venues and performances.
Afda, Milpark Amanda Strydom’s State of the Heart (3 Oct) Absa Joburg City Film Festival (4 Oct) Newtown Junction, Newtown Lyoisa Gola and Friends live at the Ster Kinekor Theatres (4 Oct) Bassline, Newtown Kalawa Jazzme (Kwaito) (4 Oct)
Market Theatre, Newtown Pieter Dirk Uys’s Adapt or Die (4 Oct) David Butler’s The Bram Fischer Waltz (4 Oct) Wits Great Hall, Braamfontein Johnny Clegg unplugged (4 Oct) Randlords, Braamfontein Rooftop DJ Party with Vimo & Friends (4 Oct)
The Sheds @1Fox, Western Edge (Ferreiras town) Starfish Greathearts Benefit Urban Picnic (2 Oct) Food and Folk music with Runaway Train Cult, Tailor and BCUC (4 Oct)
Absa Gallery and Money Museum, Absa Campus Gallery exhibition opening (4 Oct) Fashion Kapitol, Fashion District: Fashion show (4 Oct)
MOAD, Maboneng Jack Parow and Janie Bay (4 Oct)
Many fringe events
Apart from these main programme events, there are hundreds of fringe events to choose from. These vary from rooftop dinners to film screenings, city tours, theatre performances and much more. Events take place all over the inner-city and apart from the districts mentioned above many venues are also located in Marshalltown (Corporate Mining District, Fordsburg, Constitution Hill and Ellis Park).
Tickets are available online through Pick n Pay Tickets on the festival website: www.joburgcityfest.co.za