Jwaneng Wine Experience makes comeback

Different wines. PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Different wines. PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

Cresta Hotels, popularly known for its upmarket hotel chain across Southern Africa, is bringing life and flavour to the otherwise industrious mining community with the return of the Jwaneng Wine Experience.

The event billed for Debswana Rugby Club Grounds in Jwaneng on April 2, is set to tantalise the taste buds of lifestyle enthusiasts, reigniting entertainment to vibrancy in the mining town.

The primary focus of the festival will be educating people on assorted wine varieties, their recommended food pairings, and various other wine-related information from their wine brand partners such as Nedburg, Benju, Distell and more.

Attendees can also expect to be dazzled by performances from the likes of Khoisan, Motlha, Ancestral Rituals, and many more.

In light of having been previously postponed due to the rigid COVID-19 regulations, the festival’s iteration will aim to build from the crumbled entertainment industry and revive interest in local tourism by attracting wine lovers to the lesser appreciated township.

The managing director of Cresta Marakanelo, Mokwena Morulane stated that local tourism initiatives are a powerful method of bringing life to smaller communities, noting that the wine festival was modeled off of the success of the Kazungula Bridge Marathon in February.

“Typically, when people go to Jwaneng they work Monday to Friday, by the time the weekend comes, it’s (vibe) dies. People drive off to places like Gaborone when they want to enjoy themselves,” Morulane said.

“We brought this event to Jwaneng to give people a reason to stay in Jwaneng. This is not just for the benefit of Cresta Jwaneng, but rather for the benefit of the greater local economy of Jwaneng,” he added.

Despite being home to the richest diamond mine in the world, and one of the largest employers in the country, Jwaneng is often left to simply be a place of work.

Taking historical queues from the American city, Las Vegas in Nevada, Cresta seeks to build up Jwaneng into more than just a mining community but rather a lifestyle venue drawing crowds from the local mine and beyond. Morulane added that Cresta hopes to see the festival become an annual lifestyle event that the nation looks forward to flocking in droves to attend.

Barloworld Motors will also be present at the festival allowing people to test 10 different top-selling luxury vehicles from their latest showcase.

Tickets are currently on sale for P250 for a standard ticket and P600 for limited VIP at Cresta Lodge and Cresta President Hotel in Gaborone, as well as Cresta Jwaneng Hotel.

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