06/11/2018 Anthony Hamilton to Headline the Annual Mahika Mahikeng Cultural Music Festival 2018 The North West Province will host the 4th annual Mahika Mahikeng Cultural Music Festival to usher in the festive season in true Bokone Bophirima style! This entertainment and arts programme takes place in the capital of Bokone Bophirima, Mahikeng, from December 6-9. The Festival is an initiative of the North West Province Department of Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs (CATA), in partnership with the provincial Department Of Tourism. The event is organised and executed by Mega Works Trading Enterprise. Mahika Mahikeng Cultural Music Festival is the North West Provincial Government’s premier music and culture festival that aims to position the province as a key entertainment location with a diverse mix of offerings. The festival features a variety of shows over a four-day period ranging from a gospel show to a comedy show, a hip hop show and a jazz night. The event drives economic development in the province, encourages leisure tourism as well as provides job and business opportunities. “As measured by experts from the Department of Tourism, the three-day event last year gave the local economy a jab to the amount of R38 million. That is not to be sneezed at, in a society that thirsts investment and job creation,” says CATA MEC Ontlametse Mochware. The pipe-opener for the Festival is a Gospel Show scheduled for the Mmabatho Convention Centre on the evening of December 6. Gospel giants Lebo Sekgobela, Dr Tumi, Mahikeng YMD Choir and Benjamin Dube are amongst the artists who will be entertaining the crowd on the night. Maftown Heights returns to the festival for the second year running. The iconic hip hop show promises to wow audiences with a line-up of artists that reflect the vibrancy and colour of the South African hip hop landscape. An all-star group of the most iconic motswako hip hop artists will collaborate to perform a tribute to the Motswako King, HHP. This promises to be a moving tribute that will reignite the memory and musical legacy of the incomparable HHP. It is certainly going to be one of the highlights of the Festival. “Mahika Mahikeng this year would not be complete without a tribute to our own home-grown legend who we buried only last month,’’ said MEC Mochware. “Our beloved HHP was the heart of music in the North West. His influence reverberated not only in the capital and other parts of the Province, but also in every corner of the country. Not only did he show his caliber to the people of South Africa, but also earned respect and admiration in the neighboring Botswana and the United States and many other parts of the world.” Comedy night will be held on December 8, where local and national comedians will be featured. The line-up includes King Flat, Mashabela, Summary, Tshekedi Monyemore, Tumi Stopnonsons and many more comics. The Jazz gig takes place December 9 - being the headline event for the Festival. It will feature more than 40 national and local artists. For the first time in the four-year history of the Festival, the Mahika Mahikeng Cultural Music Festival will be headlined by R&B sensation, Anthony Hamilton. The epic line-up also includes Shekinah, Sho Majozi, Sands, Amanda Black, Brenda Mtambo, Mlindo The Vocalist, Zahara, Kelly Khumalo, Lady Zamar, Black Motion, Selaelo Selota, Sereetsi and the Natives (Botswana), Kabelo Buga Luv, Samantha Mogwe (Botswana) and many more. END CONTACT PERSON Siwaphiwe Myataza Mobile: 078 101 9921 E-mail: [email protected] .