Cape Town Carnival

The Cape Town Carnival was phenomenal! The brightly lit floats, the fire breathers, the music, the marching bands, the dancing, the smell of hot dogs and curly fires in the air, everything was so familiar, I felt at home! One of the school bands even played “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid; reminded me of the electrical parade at one of my favorite places on earth, Disneyland! Everything was so fun!

The Cape Town Carnival is a really big deal here. The theme this year was Amaza! – Ocean Odyssey. The parade was in the evening. Costumes ranged from sea urchins, jelly fish, dragons, a skeleton crew, to belly dancers and African princesses! The floats and costumes were thoughtfully designed and beautifully crafted with bold patterns, creative materials (many of which were recycled), and hundreds of colored lights. Face paint and glitter adorned almost every face. The colored lights danced across their faces and the glitter shimmered as the characters moved cheerfully through the streets. The whole performance was magical!

Many different cultures and traditions were portrayed. It was a beautiful representation of many cultures and peoples coming together in a single community to create something inspiring and unifying. People all through the streets were beaming. The joy in their faces as they cheered and danced along with the music was heart-warming. The whole experience was one of those times that you stop and sigh and say, life is good, so very good.

The food was right up our alley; cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, and all of the fried goodness you would find at the county fair in the states. The kind of food that you wait all year for and then feel completely satisfied with not eating again for another year after one night of pure indulgence. Oh but it’s so good! The hot dogs were longer than the buns! That is what I am talking about! None of this chintzy little weenie dog stuff. If I am going to eat a greasy, fatty, delicious hot dog, I want it to fill that bun!

The music, oh the music! African music, oh my, true love for me the first time I heard the xylophone at the waterfront. When I hear the music and see people moving their bodies to the beat, I feel like I was made for Africa! I love it! I love seeing people dancing in the streets with no shame – I absolutely love that! They sure know how to drop a beat and move to the rhythm!

There was a huge variety of music played in the parade. They even had the Justin’s covered, J-Beebs and Justin Timberlake. I have had the dancing bones in my body since I was a little girl and like Justin says, “I can’t stop the feeling!” I love to shake it! 😉 Dancing makes me so happy. No time to worry about what other people think; ain’t nobody got time for that! You wanna dance, then you go on and dance! Go on stuff!

The atmosphere was so fun and uplifting, I couldn’t stand still. I was dancing and wiggling the whole time we were watching the parade. Rob was even shaking it a little bit! We had an absolute blast! We left the parade on an adrenaline high. Cape Town, you know how to party! You continue to surprise us in extraordinary ways. 🙂