Kokopelli Choir Association

It’s our fourth day in the beautiful Cape and we’ve just gotten back to our hotel after an evening at the V&A Waterfront. We did an informal performance this afternoon at the waterfront amphitheatre and gathered a good-sized audience who seemed to appreciate our performance. It was a good ending to a day that also started in a great way, with a drumming workshop at Somerset College. Today we also said farewell to Somerset and our lovely host families in Somerset West, as we packed up the buses again and headed off to Cape Town. We stopped along the way, first in Simon’s Town and then at Boulders Beach, site of an African penguin colony. After getting to know the penguins a bit, we sang for the site staff and then headed along the gorgeous drive along the Cape. It’s a bit like the Okanagan here, mixed in with the coastal mountains of Vancouver -- many vineyards as well as gorgeous ocean views. There’s also the fascinating and at times dark history of this place too, relatively recently emerging from the apartheid regime. We drove past one of the many Cape region townships today, each housing two to three million people in these immense informal settlements.

South Africa has been a bit of a change of pace from our busy traveling schedule last week, but a welcome one. The first two nights we stayed at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, about 40 minutes outside Cape Town. This beautiful posh hotel pampered us, which felt wonderful after more than a few days of roughing it. Leigh called the concierge on Saturday morning to ask if there was a nearby bookstore where she could pick up the new Harry Potter book and was surprised to have it delivered to her door within half an hour!

We attended an inspiring performance on Friday night -- the World Youth Choir just happens to be touring South Africa this summer and we managed to get tickets to one of their concerts! What a great experience, to see a choir of that caliber. We were especially proud of our two Canadian delegates -- Emily Cheung (a former schoolmate of mine from UBC), and Edmonton’s own Dawn Bailey (another former schoolmate, this time from U of A, and also a member of the Cantilon choirs). The choir sang most of the second half without music and with movement, with a program of African traditional music that had us dancing in our seats.

The hotel is a sponsor for Marijke Roos’s fabulous choir Siyacula, which is Kokopelli’s other African twin choir. The group is a bit newer than either Kokopelli or Mascato, but has a great vitality and enthusiasm which is inspiring. On the night of our fundraiser performance at the hotel, many Kokos spent about an hour singing with Siyacula members, learning new pieces and laughing at our attempts at the languages and movement. Our second concert with the group took place on Monday night at Somerset College, singing to a packed chapel that included a rugby team from Eton College England! It was a great concert and we had a good time talking with Siyacula afterwards, offering mutual encouragement and just enjoying each other.

After our stay at the Lord Charles, we were billeted out to host families from Somerset College -- many beautiful homes and warm hosts! (Some of our lucky choristers were even given the use of a car while they stayed with the families! Incredible!) It was nice, as always, to get to know some locals and to spend some time in a homelike environment -- especially with laundry facilities.

We spent all of Monday morning in school performances. First we sang for the Somerset assembly, which was an interesting view into private school decorum and conduct -- what an amazingly well behaved group of high school students! -- then for a primary school in the township of Lewandle, which was an interesting view into total chaos! We headed over to a nearby Lewandle preschool next, where many a heart was overwhelmed with the amount of cuteness we encountered. I had to order a bus check as we headed back to Somerset to make sure no one had stowed a toddler under their seat.

Yesterday was a free day for the choir and we all went in different directions. One bus traveled to Cape Town and the other to Stellenbosch (a small bohemian university town in the Somerset area). I was in with the Stellenbosch crew, spending a somewhat rainy but pleasant day exploring this beautiful town and enjoying its shops.

We were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Katelyn Jensen here in Somerset West, too! Katelyn is a Kokopelli member who’s been on school exchange at Marijke’s school, Somerset College, and we expected that she would be back in Canada by now, but she extended her stay in order to see Kokopelli in Cape Town, which is great.

As well as getting to know our twin choir here, we’ve been busy with recreational pursuits -- everything from exploring the local wine farms, to getting out to see a bit of the nightlife with billet families, to shopping at Somerset Mall. We spent Monday afternoon at Spier, a local wine farm that includes a delicious restaurant (with traditional African face painting!), picnic opportunities, beautiful scenery, and a cheetah and falcon sanctuary. Tomorrow is another free day with as many destinations and plans as there are choir buddies! Sadly, the shark diving expedition (yes, there was a shark diving expedition) has been cancelled due to imminent bad weather, but there will be a wine tour instead. Others are hoping to climb Table Mountain, scale Signal Hill, visit the District 6 Museum, explore the Waterfront area…or just sleep off whatever sickness is hitting at this point in the tour.

And now, finally, a few pics, because this internet is FAST, if expensive:


Alex on our Zambezi River cruise, back in Zambia


The Zambezi Swing! (Parents, avert your eyes!)


Victoria Falls


Siyacula sings for us


Cool face painting at Moyo, the great restaurant at Spier


A very happy Jenica finally gets to pet cheetahs


Some Kokos at Boulder Beach checking out the penguins


Our performance at the Waterfront today

Last but not least, I've just gotten the e-mail nod to share some non-African Kokopelli news that I've been dying to share all tour. From my brother Alan and his wife Kelly, both members of Òran:

Hello,

I thought I'd like to let you all know that Kelly has been feeling a little under the weather lately. She's experiencing mild nausea, aches, and fatigue. We went to the doctor, who told us that she has developed a growth in her abdomen, which she apparently caught from me about 10 weeks ago. The doctor said we shouldn't worry too much, and that it should clear itself up sometime around February 18th. I did a little research, though, and apparently the after-effects of this condition are prolonged, and typically last at least two decades. We thought you guys would like to know.

Our parents are very excited about it, too. Love, Alan & Kelly