The second eThekwini Shisanyama Festival will return to Durban on Saturday, September 26, with Amapiano heavyweight Kelvin Momo leading the entertainment line-up at Berea Rovers.
The Heritage Month event aims to bring together food entrepreneurs, music lovers and communities from across KwaZulu-Natal while showcasing the province’s thriving shisanyama culture and supporting small businesses.
Festival founder Lunga Mkhize, owner of Metro Gents Shisanyama in Umlazi, said the event was inspired by the late Jabulani “Mjay” Zama, founder of Eyadini Lounge, whose business helped transform township entrepreneurship.
“Mjay showed us that a shisanyama could become much more than a place to eat. He built a destination that attracted people from all walks of life while creating opportunities for the community around him. His vision inspired many of us who own shisanyamas today, and this festival is about continuing that legacy,” said Mkhize.
He said the festival was created to give emerging food businesses greater exposure and help them reach new customers.
“There are so many talented people in KwaZulu-Natal who have built businesses around the braai. Some started selling meat on street corners or outside busy trading areas before opening permanent establishments. We wanted to create a platform where those businesses could showcase their products to thousands of people in one place.”
The festival will feature local meat vendors from across KwaZulu-Natal, with organisers expecting the event to generate additional economic activity while highlighting the diversity of the province’s township food scene.
Mkhize said supporting local vendors also contributes to job creation and helps small businesses grow at a time when youth unemployment remains a major challenge in South Africa.
“When people support local vendors, they are supporting families, creating jobs and helping small businesses grow. We want this festival to become a place where entrepreneurs can make meaningful business connections while showcasing the quality of what they produce.”
Hosting the festival during Heritage Month was a deliberate choice, he said, as food remains one of South Africa’s strongest shared cultural traditions.
“Heritage is expressed in many ways, but food is one of the few things that naturally brings people together. Whether your family gathers around pap and vleis, braaibroodjies, boerewors, lamb or chakalaka, the braai is something shared across cultures. We wanted to create a space where people from different communities could celebrate that together.”
The eThekwini Shisanyama Festival takes place on Saturday, September 26, at Berea Rovers, 73 Jacko Jackson Drive, Durban.
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