Whether you enjoy your Kota with traditional fillings of meat, chips, lettuce, cheese, sausage, and the like, or you are more daring and prefer it with mash and chicken feet, then the Soweto Cricket Oval in Rockville is the place to be this weekend.

The Blue-Ribbon Soweto Kota Festival is making a comeback this September and promises to bring you a variety of some of the most scrumptious Kota combos on offer in the township.
Currently, in its fifth edition, the festival is being sponsored by Blue-Ribbon Bakeries and will be held on Saturday, 3 and Sunday, 4 September 2022.

“The idea of a Kota festival was born from a need to have a social food event that pairs music and our township’s staple cuisine with food that is affordable for everyone. When we conceptualised the event, we automatically received buy-in from the community. Everyone was thinking about it, but we dared to see it through,” says festival organiser, Sidwell Tshingilane.

Tshingilane says the Blue-Ribbon Soweto Kota Festival has grown in popularity and support since inception, with visitors travelling from across the Gauteng province to attend.

With the festival’s patronage composed of diverse audiences from all walks of life, organisers believe this year’s instalment will attract thousands more people over the two days.

Aside from providing a platform for up-and-coming local chefs to showcase their fantastic Kota offerings, the festival ensures a fun day for families and friends. Visitors can expect to experience over 40 different Kota stalls, live performances from some of Joburg’s top DJs, spot prize giveaways and kid’s entertainment.

The Blue-Ribbon Soweto Kota Festival serves as an enterprise development platform, promoting the township economy and building a larger market of Kota fans around Johannesburg and the country.

“Our previous record before Covid-19 saw one vendor make more than R30K from selling at the festival and that made us happy as young guys from Soweto. We call ourselves advocates of the township economy because we support what our government advocates for in our communities,” Tshingilane adds.

The event also draws attention from other parts of the country, bringing business to Soweto, with the positive spinoff being increased clientele for local BNBs, hotels, car washes, and township retailers.

Tickets for the Blue-Ribbon Soweto Kota Festival can be bought from Checkers, OK Foods, Computicket, or Shoprite. Early bird tickets are R80 for adults and R40 for children. Pre-sold tickets cost R90 for adults and R50 for children. Entry is free for children under 4. Email Lucky Litelu: Lucky@icrdgroup.com for more information.

Written by Bongiwe Radebe
08.2022