The Floating Princess

"Because we love the earth and the waters we pledge to protect and preserve Princess Vlei, to honour its natural beauty, to safeguard its wild life and to ensure it remains a sanctuary for future generations."
This pledge was made by learners from Levana Primary, at the ceremony to launch a floating sculpture at Princess Vlei. The sculpture is intended to honour of the Khoe princess who gave Princess Vlei its name, and to raise awareness of the history of Princess Vlei, and of the indigenous wisdom of our Khoe and San ancestors who live harmoniously with the land.
The waterside ceremony followed a day of celebration by 200 school learners and community members, during which local school learners performed dances inspired by nature at Princess Vlei. Captain Kwanda’s Fanplastic Adventures, was performed by Jungle Theatre Company, a lively production about saving the oceans from climate change and plastic pollution.
The group then paraded through the streets from the Retreat Civic to Princess Vlei, carrying giant bird puppets and mandalas, colourful fish and windsock fish that they had created.
At the water’s edge, Shihaam Domingo led a ceremony to launch the Princess sculpture. The Ceremony was attended by Zolani Mahola, former lead singer of Pan-African supergroup Freshlyground, who called on ‘the spirit of the Princess, and to the spirit of all our ancestors and all the people who came before us. Zolani enthralled the gathering by singing Doo be Doo, Freshly Ground’s iconic song.
This project is a collaborative effort from the Princess Vlei Forum, Jungle Theatre Company, local dance practitioners and local schools. It forms part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s creative education program to generate passion for nature amongst local school learners, and to use the area as a living classroom to raise environmental awareness. The project was made possible by funding from the City of Cape Town’s Grant in Aid. Read more here www.princessvl...