All roads will lead to the much loved Kramat festival held in Faure, Macassar, held each year over the Easter weekend. This festival marks a 150 year old tradition of visiting the burial site of Tuan Yusuf of Macassar, the father of Islam in South Africa.

The festival will be kicking off with a live VOC outside broadcast on Thursday after Eshaa until 22:00. The Nurul Latief masjid will do a welcome and dua, thereafter thikr, and solawaat will be recited and there will also be qaseedahs.

On Friday, people can expect qira’a renditions from 11:30am. Prior to the Jumuah khutbah, the Indonesian Acting Consul general, Riyadi Asairidin, will address the crowd.

The following day, there will be a horse parade followed by a Palestinian programme and the Habibiya Muslim Brigade. After Maghrib salaah there will be a thikr inside the masjid by Ismul Latief.

On Sunday, the Golden Hour show will be broadcasted live on VOC from the venue. The Islamic heritage of kramat and surroundings will be discussed.

“We have a good program. We try and keep the event very similar because it’s been a tradition for us for many years. We not going out like a normal festival that changes things on a yearly basis. We don’t have big names of entertainers. We try to stick to the Cape culture of Cape malay choirs, qasidah bands, ratib jamaahs and so on,” said events coordinator Shabier Ismail.

“There is a bit of everything for everyone.”

There are various fun filled events planned on the weekend such as kiddies programs on Saturday, fun walks on Sunday and a tug of war. But the event still maintains its spiritual essence, with qasidahs, Cape malay choirs and the thikr which will take place in the masjid.

“We don’t allow any loud music on site. We request an Islamic atmosphere and ethos,” said Ismail.

“We ask people to assist us and abide by the rules.”

There will be 24 hour security, the St Johns ambulance as well as disaster management on site. There are also standby electricians and plumbers.

“We expect thousands of people to come over the weekend. There are currently a number of tents on the site and we are expecting a good turnout.”

In terms of prices for entry; for overnight campers, the price for a large tent is R350, a caravan is R350, a tent is R200, adults R50, kids R20, cars R30.

For day visitors: R25 per adult, R10 kids, cars R20

All the proceeds will go towards the Nurul Latief masjid.

VOC will have intermittent broadcasts over the weekend. VOC