User:USBMBA2012/sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kaapse Klopse (or simply Klopse) is a minstrel festival that takes place annually on the 2nd of January and it is also referred to as Tweede Nuwe jaar (2nd new year), in Cape Town, South Africa. As many as 13,000 minstrels take to the streets garbed in bright colours, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. The minstrels are self organised into klopse ("clubs" in Kaapse Afrikaans, but more accurately translated as troupes in English). Participants are typically from Afrikaans-speaking working class Cape coloured families who have preserved the custom since the mid-19th century.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Cape-Town-Coon.jpg)
People consider the festival a right of renewal that has been shaped by the Cape’s history. The events that are associated with Klopse in the festive season include competitions for the Christmas Choirs, Cape Malay Choirs and Cape minstrel choirs.
Although it is called the Coon Carnival by Capetonians, local authorities have renamed the festival the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival as foreign tourists find the term "coon" derogatory. [1]