Ethnikids African Storytelling Festival x Book Drive

NIROX x ETHNIKIDS

AFRICAN STORYTELLING FESTIVAL x BOOK DRIVE

Saturday 17 May 2025

NIROX Sculpture Park

NIROX Foundation and Ethnikids have had a long-standing, successful partnership since 2017.

Ethnikids is a women-owned online bookstore that specializes in inclusive and diverse children’s books in all official South African languages. The organisation aims to tackle the literacy challenge in South Africa by positioning reading as a leisurely, pleasurable activity and providing opportunities for children and families to engage with authors and storytelling.

NIROX & The Kromdraai Hub residencies have hosted many writers and poets in their respective programmes, supporting communities and literacy, most recently the writing and refinement of Athi Petela’s new book Unako and The Blue Couch, with the support of CALEO Capital.

Saturday 17 May offers a relaxed family day outdoors with hourly book readings from the very best local talent, including the launch of Unako and The Blue Couch, with musical entertainment and lunch from the NIROX Lawn Pavilion Café. It will include:

• Book signings by authors
• Children’s books available for purchase
• Book donations



Festival goers will be encouraged to share the love of literature by bringing pre-loved children’s books to donate and purchase for the support of Learn Project SA.

PROGRAMME

11h00 Upile uThixo Bongco (Big Shoes to Fill) 

12h00 Gomolemo Moagi (Bontle's New Wheels)

13h00 Musical Performance by Mosoeu Ketlele

14h00 Nancy Gaylard (Ayen Learns To Dance / Ayen's First Day of School)

14h30 Bosele Teke (Soso and Her First Phone)

15h00 Salamina Mosese (Disaster at Gogo's Spaza)

15h30 Zulaikha Patel (Brave Like Me)

16h00 LAUNCH Athi Petela (Unako and The Blue Couch)

Tickets are available from www.niroxarts.com. We encourage bookings because tickets are limited.

Adults - R150

Children aged 12 and under - R80

Infants aged 2 and under enter free of charge