The V&A Waterfront has packed an exciting line-up of festive entertainment and cheer that is sure to make visitors’ experiences ever more magical.
Visits from Santa, magical Christmas shows, leisurely experiences around the property, gift-wrapping stations and extended shopping hours for convenience will leave visitors in a festive mood, with enough gifts to pack their Christmas stockings to overflowing!
Trading hours at the V&A Waterfront will be extended until Saturday, 30 December, ensuring that visitors can shop to their hearts’ content until later in the evenings in preparation for Christmas Day.
- Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre will open from 9am to 10pm during this time, and
- trade on Christmas Day is optional.
- Visitors who prefer a tranquil shopping experience should visit Victoria Wharf before 10am or after 7pm to avoid the festive rush.
The Waterfront’s home of craft and design, the Watershed, will have some extra-special festive cheer this year, with musical performances and festive-themed food vendors in the evenings from Friday, 15 to Wednesday, 20 December. The market will have extended trading hours, opening from 10am to 8pm from Saturday, 16 December through to Sunday, 7 January 2018. The exceptions will be Sunday, 24 December and Sunday, 31 December when it will close at 6pm. The Watershed will not be open on Christmas Day.
In keeping with the spirit of the season of giving, a Cape Town charity will benefit from the proceeds of a gift wrapping service that will be available within the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre from Saturday, 16 to Sunday, 24 December.
- Shoppers can have their gifts beautifully wrapped for between R5 and R20 (depending on the gift size), safe in the knowledge that others will also benefit from this. Proceeds from this year’s gift wrapping service will go to the Homestead Projects for Street Children.
Entertainment and Special Christmas Treats at the V&A Waterfront
Future Park: Watch your drawings come to life!
Interactive digital technology will breathe life into children’s drawings at teamLab’s Future Park exhibition at the V&A Waterfront’s Watershed
This perfect family exhibition will come to South Africa for the first time this year. The exhibition has seen more than four million children across the world play in an ever-changing digital environment while they develop their fine motor skills.
The exhibition’s fun, interactive activities will captivate the imagination and introduce young ones to the wonders of technology by using scanners and sensors to make each child’s colourful drawings come to life in a digital universe.
At the sketch aquarium, children can colour in fish and other water creatures, scan them and watch as they swim about with other children’s creations across a floor-to-ceiling digital screen.
Children will also encounter a sketch town where they can draw a car and see it drive around in a town, a light-ball orchestra filled with large balls that change colour and music as they touch it, a colourful game of hopscotch, a town they build and digitally connect, as well as a table where little people come alive.
After the Cape Town run, the exhibition will move to Johannesburg in 2018. For more information go to www.futureparksa.co.za or visit the Computicket website to buy tickets. Special family tickets are available, and all activities are included in the cost.
Date: Until 31 January 2018
Time: 10h00 to 19h00 (seven days a week; closed on 25 December)
Venue: Jubilee Hall, The Watershed, V&A Waterfront
Tickets: Available from Computicket:
Adults & children: R130*
Family package (2 adults, 2 children): R460 Pensioners (over 60) & students (with identification): R115 *Free entrance to children under 18 months and shorter than 73 cm
Contact: V&A Info Centre on info@waterfront.co.za or 021 408 7600
Grand Moët & Chandon Christmas Tree
Moët & Chandon are adding a little glitz to the festive feeling around the Silo district this year, installing a larger-than-life Christmas tree made entirely of Moët bottles in the heart of the District. This unique and larger-than-life tree will remain in the Silo district for the festive season until Thursday, 4 January, so be sure to drop by!
Date: Until Thursday, 4 January 2017
Venue: Silo Square, V&A Waterfront
Cost: Free
Meet Santa in Santa’s Workshop
With a ho-ho-ho and a belly full of fun, Santa and his elves will be at Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre this festive season. From 10am to 4pm from Saturday, 9 to Sunday, 24 December, children of all ages can come down to Santa’s Workshop at the Centre Court where they can meet Santa himself and tell him all their Christmas wishes. Santa will take a short break around lunchtime, but be sure to come back later if you miss him the first time around!
Please note that a professional photographer will not be on-site to take images. Parents and guardians are advised to bring their own cameras for photographs.
Date: Saturday, 9 to Sunday, 24 December
Time: 10h00 to 16h00 (with a 45-minute break around lunchtime)
Venue: Centre Court in Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre
Cost: Free
Donveno Band (Take the Stage performance)
Providing a platform for emerging South African musicians and musical ensembles to showcase their talent, up-and-coming artists will take to the stage from 7 to 8pm on select summer evenings, in a free-to-attend series of musical performances at the V&A Amphitheatre.
Taking the stage on Friday, 22 December is Donveno Prins, who will perform as part of his Donveno Band for Waterfront visitors. A born-and-bred Elsies River performer, Donveno started his musical journey at the tender age of 15, performing with local jazz and gospel bands in and around Cape Town.
He has since gone on to perform with renowned local artists such as Lloyd Cele, Loyiso Bala, Jimmy Dludlu, Victor Masondo, Tony Schilder, Judith Sephuma, Ernie Smith, Wanda Baloy, Alistair Izobel and PJ Powers at the World AIDS Day Concert, Emo Adams, Loukmaan Adams, Hemelbesem. He is currently the resident saxophonist in Jonathan Butler’s South African Band.
Date: Friday, 22 December 2017
Time: 19h00 to 20h00
Venue: V&A Amphitheatre
Cost: Free
Cameron Ward (Take the Stage performance)
Providing a platform for emerging South African musicians and musical ensembles to showcase their talent, up-and-coming artists will take to the stage from on select summer evenings, in a free-to-attend series of musical performances at the V&A Amphitheatre.
Popular jazz musician Cameron Ward will perform at the Amphitheatre on Saturday, 23 December, from 4.45 to 5.45pm, for festive season shoppers making a last-minute Christmas present dash!
Cameron is widely considered a jazz maestro, having undergone a meteoric rise from performing on the streets of Lotus River, to playing on the world stages of the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, and the Back to Black Jazz Fest in both London and Brazil. This worldwide recognition testifies to his incredible musical talent.
Date: Saturday, 23 December 2017
Time: 16h45 to 17h45
Venue: V&A Amphitheatre
Cost: Free
Smart car presents: V&A Summer Sessions with Prime Circle
The V&A Waterfront Summer Sessions, presented by the new smart car, are back to liven up the summer! Taking place at the V&A Amphitheatre between 7 and 8pm on select evenings, this much-loved musical event offers acoustic performances by well-known names against views of Table Mountain and the city – making this the perfect way to spend a summer’s evening.
Performing on Tuesday, 26 December is the legendary Prime Circle, often regarded as South African rock royalty. The band has won countless awards, having released six studio albums that have gone multi-platinum, and can boast many chart-topping singles and sold-out tours over the years.
In 2016, Prime Circle released a deluxe edition of their acclaimed 2014 album Let the Night In, to coincide with a European tour that included festival appearances alongside Iron Maiden, Garbage, Slayer and Iggy Pop. The band has received numerous accolades including a Johannesburg Choice Award, FHM Award, MK Award for International Break Through Act, two South African Music Awards, and the Short & Sweet Music Video Award for Best Rock Video for Doors, as well as many nominations for SAMAs, MTV Africa Music Awards and African Music Awards.
Date: Tuesday, 26 December 2017
Time: 19h00 to 20h00
Venue: V&A Amphitheatre
Cost: Free
