MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Hobby-X Offers Discounted Stand and Ticket Rates

Hobby-X the largest Hobby and Craft Show in South Africa has a reputation for providing a platform for small business owners to launch their businesses. The show serves as the hub for suppliers, retailers, and visitors to connect and grow their network and ultimately businesses.

“We know that the heart and soul of this industry are made up of small business owners and we are excited about the strides we are taking with our new Crafters Area to help them get back on their feet and bring our visitors the products they know and love,” says Marlene Bosch, the Show Director of Hobby-X.

The new Crafters Area offers discounted stand rates for small business owners with a turnover of less than R750 000 per year. The Pandemic had devastating effects on our small business owners and we want to help them get back on their feet with this initiative, concluded Bosch.

Tickets for Hobby-X this year will be launched in 3 phases. Visitors will benefit most from purchasing their tickets early in phase 1 (25 January to 28 February 2023) when ticket prices are at their lowest. Ticket Prices will gradually increase with each new phase leading up to the event.

“We pride ourselves on taking visitor feedback seriously and making the changes that our visitors want to see. One of the changes requested was to revisit ticket prices – we have done so and have amended our pricing structure to reward visitors that purchase their tickets early with reduced ticket rates”. Neil Piper Head of Marketing and Content for Messe Frankfurt South Africa.

“The Hobby-X team is working tirelessly to bring visitors a unique crafters experience in 2023 and we look forward to reconnecting with everyone at the show in May this year,” says Michael Dehn, the Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt South.

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The World’s Largest Man-Made Urban Forest

One of the most surprising facts about Johannesburg is its status as a “green” city. When the first settlers arrived, the Highveld was a barren, treeless grassland (savannah). To support the mining industry, millions of trees were imported and planted to provide timber for mine underground supports. Fast forward to the present day, and Johannesburg is widely considered the largest man-made urban forest in the world.

There are an estimated 10 million trees within the city limits. This includes 1.2 million trees on sidewalks and in parks, and over 4.8 million in private gardens. This forest is so dense that satellite images of the northern suburbs often resemble a tropical rainforest. The most iconic of these trees is the Jacaranda, which was imported from South America in the early 20th century. Every October and November, the city turns a vibrant shade of purple as thousands of Jacarandas bloom simultaneously. However, this “forest” also highlights the city’s historical inequality; during the Apartheid era, trees were predominantly planted in wealthy white suburbs, leaving townships like Soweto as dusty plains. In the last two decades, “Greening Soweto” initiatives have seen hundreds of thousands of trees planted to bridge this “green divide,” emphasizing the role of urban forestry in social justice and climate cooling.