Cape Town was “Hollands!”
This past weekend I popped in at the Good Hope Christian Centre in Ottery, where the teams of Section 2 of the Cape Malay Choir Board (CMCB) competition came to impress.
Many soloists received standing ovations but it all came down to the judge’s final decision.
Primroses won the Best Dress, Junior Solo and the Senior Solo, and while these points were being handed out, many thought it was Primroses’ night.
However, it was the Ottomans who walked away with the first prize for their comic piece and the Nederlandslied.
Ottomans beat the runners-up, Caballeros, and coming in third place was Primroses; in fourth position we had Parkdales.
I spoke to both Shahied Samaai and Fouad Elouchi who were the adjudicators for the Best Dress item.
Elouchi said: “I am very happy to see the amount of effort that has gone into this item, teams have kept up with the trend while respecting the tradition of our competition.”
Samaai added: “I have to compliment all the teams who made sure they met with requirements considering the tremendous financial constraints caused by the pandemic.”
Thanks to Eskom, we suffered from load shedding, but the venue was well equipped with generators.
Adnaan Morris, the media liaison for the CMCB, said: “Because of the new venue and their rules, everything was new and we most certainly had our issues, but we managed to iron it all out.
“Some of the spectators have asked for prayer facilities, and the venue has now given us ample space to do our compulsory prayer.”
He added: “With that said, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the teams who played throughout the last two weeks.
“We thank their team captains and everyone who played a vital role in keeping things together when it mattered most.
“Lastly, to our spectators who showed up and made sure the CMCB competition was sold out both weekends, we thank them from the bottom of our hearts and we look forward to seeing them at the ‘Super 10’ (Top 10) on Saturday, October 15.”
The Top 10 will also take place at the Good Hope Christian Centre in Ottery and I was told that as soon as tickets are out.
People should get them immediately, as judging by the sections, it will sell out even faster.
Tickets will be on sale at all participating teams, and more information on the CMCB competition will be on this page next week.
BY MUJAHID GEORGE