Heritage

Celebrate Heritage Day in Jozi. Image via Adobe Stock

Things to do on Heritage Day in Johannesburg

The annual Heritage Day public holiday on 24 September is set to be like no other we have experienced.

Heritage

Celebrate Heritage Day in Jozi. Image via Adobe Stock

As South Africa celebrates the country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, social distancing is in force and our borders remain closed. However, we can still celebrate the diversity of the Rainbow Nation in style. 

Whether Heritage Day for you is about firing up a braai with the family or dressing in traditional finery and heading out to celebrate with friends, here are a few ways to enjoy this feel-good, celebratory holiday in Johannesburg.

Celebrate Heritage Day in Jozi

Market on Main at Design Quarter in Fourways

In celebration of the Heritage Day public holiday, the Maboneng Market on Main will have a pop-up market at Design Quarter in Fourways.

While the favourite Sunday market in Maboneng is not yet open, you can still get your Market on Main fix here with all the usual suspects that make the market so popular, like several unique gift and fashion vendors, and delicious food stalls.

Open 10am – 3pm

Entrance: Free 

Heritage Day at Bryanston Market

The Bryanston Market is a family-friendly outdoors market with over 80 traders selling a wide variety of wares — from authentic handmade arts and crafts, to fresh organic fruit and vegetables, and mouthwatering homemade cuisine.

You can enjoy brunch or lunch while listening to live music under the trees at the newly relaunched Bryanston Market Tea Garden restaurant.

Open 09:00-15:00.

Entrance: Free

View this post on Instagram

My happy place

A post shared by #InfluenceWithPurpose (@sarahlanga) on

Jewel City launch day

The long-awaited residential and commercial development called Jewel City officially launches on 24 September and there will be lots of on-street entertainment on the go, including live DJs, local buskers, and a wide range of stalls selling arts and crafts from the neighbouring Maboneng.

Once part of the fortress that housed Johannesburg’s diamond dealers, Jewel City is one of the biggest and most exciting new Joburg City Centre development projects in recent years and is an important addition to the city.

The development has been adorned with spectacular murals by established and young emerging South African street artists, which are well worth checking out.

Rooftop Salsa at Arts on Main

​​​​​​Rumba, kizomba, and salsa Heritage Day at a rooftop salsa party at Arts On Main in Maboneng. You can enjoy an afternoon filled with sultry Cuban music and a basic introduction to salsa for beginners is also included in the ticket price.

To book tickets, go to Quicket.

Be a tourist in your own city and take a city sightseeing bus tour

Joburg’s open-top City Sightseeing bus makes a return on Heritage Day after being closed down due to the pandemic, so why not be a tourist in your own city and take enjoy a sightseeing tour of the city.

The company will offer a special combined route (approximately one hour and 45 minutes) that starts at The Zone@Rosebank, travelling through the treed suburbs of Parktown and onwards to Constitution Hill where it will continue along the classic “Red City” tour route that loops around the City Centre and Turffontein via Gold Reef City.

The new route is a “hop-on stay-on” ride that includes a break halfway at Gold Reef City.

Heritage Day Lunch at Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers

Celebrate Heritage Day in South African style with a traditionally prepared hearty home-cooked lunch at the delightful Lebo’s Outdoor Restaurant in Soweto. Enjoy a mouthwatering potjie cooked over the fire and served with fresh greens from the Lebo’s Soweto organic farm gardens, and head to the fun tropical Coco Bar after lunch for a drink while the kids play in the huge park-garden.