April 1, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE excited faces of visitors to the Rand Show tell it all - this is the place to be for the best entertainment and all the shopping bargains the city has to offer. It opened on Friday, 18 March and will run until Sunday, 3 April.
Each day, the multitude of people - including toddlers, teenagers and the elderly - all eager to get a piece of what the 2005 Rand Show has to offer, criss-cross and bump into each other in a holiday frenzy.
This year is the show's 110th anniversary, and a record half a million visitors are expected, according to the organisers. By Easter Monday, 28 March, 303 688 people had visited the show, compared with 247 185 on Easter Monday in 2004.
As they enter Gate 5, the main attraction for the young is the Liquid Blue Bunjee Jump. For R40 children as young as six can experience a four-minute thrill hurtling 10 metres into the air - securely strapped to the spider-like poles of the bunjee contraption, of course.
For the audacious, the middle of the 51-hectare site is the place to be. The whirr of skateboard wheels at the skate park creates the perfect background to the shouts and catcalls of skaters as they dare each other to perform the most mind-boggling antics. Welcome to the Extreme Zone.
Dressed only in trademark baggy jeans and nondescript t-shirts with no protective gear, the skaters wow the crowds with their stunts, oblivious to the dangers they face. In the wings, waiting their chance to give the skaters a lesson or two in extreme stunts, the BMX bikers look huge on their tiny bicycles.
People look skywards as a sound eerily like a plane flying at a very low altitude rumbles into earshot. On a concrete rail, slowly snaking its way above the plethora of exhibitions, food kiosks and show halls is an "express train". For R28 you can get a bird's eye view of the sprawling show grounds from the train, without the inconvenience of being bumped into or tripped up by other visitors.
It's not all entertainment, though. There is serious business to be done at the show. "Can we have a minute of your time sir? We offer lucrative life cover insurance suitable for you. Just pop into our tent and we can discuss terms," says a smooth-talking salesman from one of the banks that have set up base on the grounds.
A stone's throw away is the Kidz Power Zone, a children's playground where there is never-ending entertainment for the younger crew. There is a huge McDonald brand character and jumping castles, a Lost Kidz Corner and a baby care area with personnel to take care of children. Parents can leave their children at the zone while they go about their business.
"Parents can leave their children with us as long as they come and collect them before 7pm. They provide us with their name, phone number and home address and the children are kept entertained by popular brand characters, music and dance," says a caregiver.
For an unusual experience, try the Ride-a-Camel stand; for R20 you can get a 10-minute camel-back tour of the show. For funfair fun, go straight to Pleasure Land on the southern side of the grounds. There is the obligatory roller coaster and merry-go-round, and the inevitable big wheel and toddler entertainment rides on horses and jets, all ranging from R7 to R20.
Hungry? The sheer variety of food and cold drinks kiosks spoil a person for choice. Popular restaurants and fast food outlets have stalls dotted all over the show, all doing roaring trade as they fill hungry stomachs.
In the traders' halls, there is 22 000m² of shopping space for visitors bent on spending money on great buys. Every taste is catered for and the goods on offer are all "bargains", according to the advertisements at almost every stall. The merchandise - from as far away as India, Egypt, Iran and Pakistan - is mind-blowing; that is, if one has spare cash to spend.
Spread out on the eastern side of the grounds is the informal traders' space, called The Terrace. Here, you can get a cheap tattoo or a string of beads from a suavely smiling salesperson, or a pair of shoes and a head dress. Touts are a dime a dozen on The Terrace. They entice customers to buy, with promises of products at affordable prices, shouting themselves hoarse as they try to outdo each other.
Kaizer Chiefs' PR Putco Mafani (left) hypes up a five-a-side soccer
tournament
The Rand Show is Africa's most consistently successful consumer exhibition show. Eight-year-old-Simangele Dlathu from Diepkloof sums it up. "The show is one I will never forget," she says, clutching a huge lollipop in one hand and a bag full of "memorabilia" collected from various stalls in the other.
Entrance to the Rand Show is R40 for adults, R20 for children under 12 and free for senior citizens and children under two. It is at the Expo Centre, Nasrec Road, Nasrec and is open from 10am to 8pm every day. For more information, visit the website at www.randshow.co.za
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