A brand-new era has started with regards to the Kaapse Klopse carnival competition and it is shaping up to be the carnival of the decade.
The KKKA is showing that they are very capable of running a carnival and have a lot of new teams who came on board this season.
The newbies, who are by no means new to playing klops, include All Star Entertainers, District Six Entertainers, Xtreme Minstrels, G-star and the Juvie Boys.
These teams were previously affiliated with the CTMCA, where they were the top guns along with Shoprite Pennsylvanians.
With these top teams joining the KKKA they’re now facing their top teams like Kenfac, Kensington All Stars, Original D6, Fabulous Woodstock Starlites, Seawinds and Cape Town Hawkers. And the team that’s on most people’s lips after delivering a stunning klopse jol on Saturday past, is Baruch Entertainers. This champions league of the KKKA is quite mouth-watering.
It’s new and unpredictable and that is what makes it all the more exciting to watch.
This past Saturday was the klopse jol item and the Juvie Boys, who have been dominating Athlone Stadium for the past few years in this item, did a gevaarlike klopse jo l, as expected. But they were given a run for their money by the All Star Entertainers, Baruch Entertainers, Kensington All Stars, G-Stars and Seawinds.
Trust me when I say I’m only but mentioning a few off the top of my head because all teams, even the smaller ones, came with plak and gave the stadium a gevaarlike show.
A special mention needs to be given to D6 Entertainers, who stopped their klopse jol in front of the judges to have a moment of silence for one of their band members who had passed away.
The mighty D6 Entertainers humbled themselves by removing their hats, stopping their band and the whole stadium joined in showing that we are more than just this sport - we are people with dignity and respect.
The thing that grabbed my attention even more than this display of klopse jol was how fast teams were moving in after each other,. There were no delays, which made for lekker fast-paced entertainment.
Klopse were moving in so quickly after each other that people delayed toilet visits, just to avoid missing their favourite teams.
Credit needs to go to the KKKA directors and officials for running this first day at the pace at which it was done and many patrons appreciated that they, at no point, needed to wait on a klops.
There was a brief pause for the klopse jol item at one point, when the best dress adjudicators went on break. But this board does not sit around and wait, there is always someone thinking about the people, so while the best dress adjudicators were eating, the MC called for the singing items to commence.
This is the board that keeps on moving like the klopse jol item, it keeps moving and growing and in my opinion, it will prosper if they continue in this manner because they have the public - you, the people - at heart.
With regards to the singing items, I loved that the artists, who competed on the day, came to entertain and the senior sentimental of Xtreme Minstrels who did a stunning rendition of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud won over the audience on the day.
The Juvie Boys had a junior sentimental that wowed the crowd as well, and he got a much deserved standing ovation for his performance of Whitney Houston’s One Moment in Time.
Another stand out performance was that of Anwar Gambeno, owner of the Mitchells Plain All Stars, who delivered a stunning solo performance in true crooner fashion, showing that he still has what it takes to compete with best.
The song of the day belonged to Ridhaa Dawood, for his gentle performance of Hallelujah, with lyrics that suited the moment perfectly.
I think with regards to the solo items criteria in the near future, the KKKA can perhaps look at opening themselves up to original songs, and in this way empower local songwriters.
This will also eliminate the monotony of having to listen to the same popular songs each year, and local opera singers doing Pavarotti year in and out.
As Kaapse Klopse, I know that we don’t only possess the ability to sing, we have the talent to create our own music and to write our own songs.
I feel we could have a best minstrel writer of the year, which includes writers of combines and comics as a special trophy.
This is just a suggestion and I know that with this board, anything is possible.
Who knows what the future still holds for klops lovers and the innovative KKKA.
With that said, keep up the good work, the people are happy.