• Join the SPCA for AGM and stencil painting

• LIVE and FREE pro wrestling in Randfontein CBD

• Conserving the grasslands at Melville Koppies

And the birds too live off the flowers and devour the insects while the animals living there eat the insects and the birds in a whole linked food pyramid. Grasslands have natural threats too. Fire is not one of them. Grass and the flowers that they support know how to deal with fire. What they battle to cope with is bush encroachment. When Melville Koppies chairperson, Wendy Carstens, first started conservation work on Melville Koppies 25 years ago, conserving the grasslands was all about chopping out invasive alien species like black wattle, bugweed and garden escapees from nearby gardens.

But increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and less frequent and cooler fires that sweep across the Koppies, all favour pioneer indigenous bushes advancing on the grassland. Once they have a foothold, other seedlings of forest trees are dropped by birds and thrive in the shady environment of the pioneer bush, slowly edging out their grassland neighbours. Come and visit Melville Koppies on a Sunday. See if you can spot the pioneer indigenous bushes that are invading the northern grassland.

Book a guided tour (phone 079 532 0083) or be there by 08:30 so a guide can point out these conservation challenges. Or bury yourselves in the history and guide yourself on the heritage trail; get fit on the 5km hike; or take a map and just meander along the many different paths that crisscross the Koppies. Melville Koppies is open between 08:00 and 11:30 every Sunday. Adults R80, children R40; season ticket for a year per adult – R500 (not transferable). Income used for maintenance of the Koppies; R22 000 needs to be raised per month. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Contact [email protected] or call 079 532 0083 to find out more. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see, or https://www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies.

• Upcoming U3A West Rand events

Are you retired or semi-retired and looking for something stimulating and affordable to do? If so, then join The University of the 3rd Age (U3A). The U3A is an organisation for senior citizens. • July 20 – The U3A West Rand will visit Empire Cables in Longdale, Industria where they will learn how all electric cables are manufactured. This will be very interesting and especially for the male members. Lunch will be at Porterhouse Restaurant at Florida Junction afterwards. Everybody welcome! Contact Marthie Coetzer on 083 297 9565 for booking or information.

Friends of Kloofendal in association with the West Rand Astronomy Club will be hosting their annual ‘Star gazing in the Kloof’ at Kloofendal Nature Reserve on August 6 from 17:00 to 20:00, a family event for young and old! What can you expect on the Saturday night? The event will start before sunset with the planet walk around the amphitheatre, which gives an indication of the scale of our solar system as well as interesting facts about each planet.

This will be followed by a presentation on astronomy and related topics in the Ecological Centre, followed by viewing through the telescopes that will be set up and manned by the club members. The members will show some of the hidden gems in the night sky and answer the many questions. August 6 sees us coming out of winter and moving towards spring with the constellations Capricornus, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra and Virgo visible in the night sky. Saturn with its beautiful rings will be visible. Participants will also look at the moon and its features, various nebula, clusters and the jewel box located in the Southern Cross. Curry and rice, boerewors rolls, pancakes, and hot and cold beverages will be on sale. Please note: cash only. Dress warmly and bring a torch. Red cellophane (to reduce the light) will be provided at the entrance. For more information please contact Friends of Kloofendal on 079 693 5608.

• 3rd Annual Charity Golf Day in Roodepoort

Enjoy a day on the golf course on Thursday, July 28 with friends, family and business partners followed by a dinner, prize-giving and live entertainment with Pieter Smith, Althus Theart and Sanni’Q. This is not your ordinary golf day! Proceeds are in aid of two local charity organisations namely The Dempsey Foundation, and Friends Of Rescued Animals (FORA). Fantastic prizes and lucky draws to the value of over R25 000 will also be up for grabs, including closest to the pin and the longest drive. Venue is the Eagle Canyon Country Club. Format of the day is Fourball Alliance. Contact Wesley Parsons on 081 767 6390 or via email at [email protected] or Johnny van Eden on 083 346 6050 or via email at [email protected] / [email protected].

• Cedar Tree Craft Market in Krugersdorp

Get the family and head over to the Cedar Tree Craft Market for their fun-filled Sunday market on July 31. Apart from live entertainment, you can expect an array of excellent stalls selling high-quality products, crafts, mouth-watering foods and something to sip on. Time is 10:00 to 15:00 at the Khosa Sports Club at the corner of Shannon Road and Frederick Cooper Drive, Krugersdorp. Pets welcome. Contact Chanelle on 081 500 6884 for more information.

Whether you are in the market for an updated look to your home, or just like gathering décor inspo, Decorex is the place to be. With more than 700 exhibitors you can feast your eyes on the latest décor and design trends, amazing room settings, eco interior, cutting-edge kitchens and bathrooms, and attend-free workshops. Head to the Sandton Convention Centre on July 28, 29, 30 and 31. Visit itickets.co.za.

• Save lives, help a furry friend and donate something at Hillfox

What are you doing foe Mandela Day? Nothing? Great … Come join us at the Hillfox Value Centre from 10:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, July 16 and donate blood, register to be an organ or tissue donor, or drop off donations for furry friends at the SPCA, and even donate blankets for the homeless. Donations for baby items will be collected on the day by Ladies Circle Northridge 7 and Round Table Florida 21. All items will be distributed to Just In Time Baby Sanctuary and Devine Mercy Home.

• Sionspoort se Vleisfees is einde Julie terug!

Die Sionspoort Hervormde Gemeente is kliphard besig met die laaste reëlings rondom hul baie gewilde Vleisfees. Die publiek kan uitsien na goeie kunstenaars wat heeldag op die verhoog saam met seremoniemeester Tanya V gaan optree. Die lang lys kunstenaars sluit in Fatman; Germandt Geldenhuys; Valeska; Heidi; Johan Baard; Reinhardt Venter; AJ Vos; en Die Ventertjies. Tradisionele musiek deur die Dagbreek Boereorkes, tesame met smulgoed soos skilpadjies en kaiings, skaapstertjies, pannekoek en natuurlik Sionspoort-vetkoek en -feeswors sal besoekers terugneem op ‘n nostalgiese reis. Toegang is slegs R20 per persoon en ons sien uit om die ou vriende weer gul te ontvang. Daar sal voldoende parkering beskikbaar wees. Die fees is by die Tuinhekkie van 08:00 tot laat op Saterdag 30 Julie.

• Appreciating the warmth of ‘north-facing’

When you move to Joburg from places where the minimum temperature hardly ever goes below double digits in winter, long-time residents will tell you: ‘buy a house that’s north-facing’. Listen to them. If you don’t, you’ll end up miserable in winter (not helped by load-shedding), and you’ll find that during the day, it’s warmer outside than in your house. The first people who lived on Melville Koppies hundreds of thousands of years ago knew all about north-facing. Visit Melville Koppies and you’ll see signs of where the hunter gatherers and the first farmers lived. All the old settlements were on the north-facing slopes, nestled into the side of the ridge, protected from the bitterly cold southerly breeze and guaranteed to get all the warming winter sun. The hunter gatherers left only their sharpened stone tools as evidence: scrapers that they used as knives, or bigger stone axes.

Remains of the low stone walls built by the first farmers to delineate their homesteads are still visible as is just one of the many furnaces that they used to smelt iron-bearing rock to fashion steel knives, spears and hoes. Come and visit Melville Koppies on a Sunday. Come dressed to kill winter and after exploring, you’ll end up dressed like you’re basking in summer. Book a guided tour (phone 079 532 0083) or be there by 08:30, and you’ll have your eyes opened to the evidence of where the first Joburg inhabitants lived.

Or you can self-guide yourself on the heritage trail which points out some of this evidence. If you just want to get fit, try out the 5km hike – do it twice if you’re fast. Or take a map and just meander along the many different paths that crisscross the Koppies. Melville Koppies is open between 08:00 and 11:30am every Sunday. Adults R80, children R40; season ticket for a year per adult – R500 (not transferable). Income used for maintenance of the Koppies; R22 000 needs to be raised per month.

Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Contact [email protected] or call 079 532 0083 to find out more. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see or https://www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies.

• Sharing knowledge around times past

Volunteer guides on Melville Koppies welcome visitors and schools to the Koppies. With a rich history going back thousands and thousands of years and a diverse mix of grassland, forest and cliffs, it’s a chance for the guides to share their knowledge with the visitors and glean new insight from visitors into times past. Children from Future Nation school in Lyndhurst visited recently. One of the teachers told how they made cooking oil by grinding peanuts on the grindstones. And when they wanted a sweet and savoury snack, they’d grind braaied mealies with sugar. Other visitors from countries just north of us often share how so many of the trees and shrubs are the same as those growing in their home countries, as too are the medicinal ones and their uses. Guided tours are proving to be very popular. Come and share your knowledge with us.

Book a tour on a Sunday morning (book on 079 532 0083) or be there by 08:30. Or you can guide yourself on the heritage trail or test your fitness on the 5km self-guided trail. Or take a map and just meander along the many different paths that crisscross the Koppies. Melville Koppies is open between 08:00 and 11:30 every Sunday. Adults R80, children R40; season ticket for a year per adult – R500 (not transferable). Income used for maintenance of the Koppies; R22 000 needs to be raised per month. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Contact [email protected] or call 079 532 0083 to find out more. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see, or visit https://www.facebook.com/melvillekoppies.

• Monster Jam® Races back to SA!

This. Is. Monster Jam®! The most action-packed motor sports experience for families in the world returns to South Africa in 2023 for an adrenaline-charged three-city tour starting in Cape Town at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, April 22 followed by FNB Stadium Johannesburg on Saturday, April 29 and ending at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, May 6 for one exciting event only at 18:00 in each city. In addition, Monster Jam® also features breath-taking Freestyle Motocross (FMX) exhibitions. This is unbeatable revved-up fun for the entire family.

Monster Jam, produced by American-based Feld Entertainment and brought to you by McDonald’s South Africa together with leading local promoter, Showtime Management, in association with SuperSport, features world-class athletes locked in intense competitions of speed and skill. Exclusive advance tickets are available for purchase starting June 28 until July 4 via the McDonald’s SA app. General public tickets go on sale on Tuesday, July 5 at www.showtime.co.za OR www.ticketmaster.co.za.

Monster Jam drivers are highly trained, world-class male and female athletes who have mastered not only the physical strength and mental stamina needed to compete, but the vital dexterity to control 4,5 ton machines capable of doing backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and racing at speeds up to 110km/h to produce jaw-dropping, live motor-sports action seen around the world.

South African fans will witness heated rivalries, high-flying stunts and fierce head-to-head battles for the Event Championship. Engineered to perfection, Monster Jam trucks push all limits in Freestyle, Skills and Racing competitions. Plus, fans can become part of the action by voting for the winner in the Skills and Freestyle competitions via real-time, in-stadium fan voting on their smartphones. There are significant risks in buying from other sources, and entry to a Monster Jam event is not guaranteed. For more information on Monster Jam log onto MonsterJam.com, follow Monster Jam on their social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok #MonsterJamSA. Subscribe to the Monster Jam YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/MonsterJam.

• FREE Fertility Show Africa makes a welcome return

If you are trying to conceive or on a journey to parenthood, you really cannot afford to miss Fertility Show Africa (FSA) 2022 which this year is free for all attendees – both online and at the live, in-person event happening at the Focus Rooms in Modderfontein, Sandton, Johannesburg on July 23 and 24. Fittingly, the show takes place during National Fertility Awareness Week (July 18–24). Mindful that many of those suffering from infertility prefer some privacy and confidentiality, FSA 2022 will again host an online event that will run alongside the physical show. This will not only provide a platform for those wanting to keep their attendance more private, but it will also allow visitors from other parts of South Africa, the African continent and the rest of the world to participate. If you are actively seeking answers, solutions and treatments and are in need of expert advice, support and encouragement,

FSA 2022 offers attendees the opportunity to consult confidentially with a wide range of clinicians and experts as well as engage, ask questions, find answers and gather information from some of the industry’s best specialists, embryologists, nurses and psychologists as well as leading professionals in fertility who have struggled with their own fertility issues. Show participants will include doctors, practitioners, fertility clinics, legal advisors, support groups, surrogacy, adoption and donor agencies, natural fertility solutions and supplements, complementary and alternative therapies, and nutritional and lifestyle advisors. FSA 2022 highlights will include the popular Expert Talks programme, the Support Zone and the Q&A sessions as well as an in-person Expo area showcasing the latest fertility and journey-to-parenthood products and solutions. Visit www.fertilityshowafrica.com for more. Fertility Show Africa 2022 is FREE to attend. Get your complimentary ticket via Quicket at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/175409-fertility-show-africa-2022#/.

• Friends of Kloofendal (FroK) events this July

Why not spend the winter with Friends of Kloofendal (FroK)? FroK is a non-profit organisation founded in August 2002. The organisation supports Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo by initiating and driving environment and community projects and activities within Kloofendal Nature Reserve. FroK consists of dedicated guides and volunteers who use their wide variety of knowledge and time to promote education, conservation and community-based projects.

• Weekend Birding on Saturday, July 16 from 09:00 to 11:00

• iNaturalist Bio Bash on Sunday July, 17 from 09:00 to 11:00

• Goudmyn Toer on Sunday July, 17 from 14:00 to 16:00

• Morning Creepy Crawly Walk on Saturday, July 24 from 09:00 to 11:00

More details and a link to online bookings at www.KloofendalFriends.org.za/events or phone/ WhatsApp 079 693 5608 for more information. All events start from the Kloofendal Ecological Centre at Kloofendal Nature Reserve.

• The SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge

Difficulty calls us to rise, and in that rising, we learn what we are capable of. The theme of the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022 is built on the concept of rising despite difficulty, like a phoenix from the ashes, which the Virtual Challenge itself has done amidst a global pandemic. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity, and there is a plethora of opportunity for creativity amidst the current challenges that we face. This year we anticipate rising again as the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022, in celebration of a South African stalwart, accompanied by a powerful digital strategy and virtual challenge, to become the most inclusive challenge South Africa has seen.

Over the years, the challenge has brought women from all walks of life together to make a difference in our communities and once again, this year will be no different, as we rise to the challenge as a nation, leaving no woman (or man) behind. While the challenge is still fully focused on women, they encourage women to bring their families, friends and animals, and welcome everyone, irrespective of gender, for this inclusive challenge. Join on Saturday, September 3, 2022 anytime between 06:00 and 18:00. You can run, jog, or walk your own virtual challenge, at your own pace, from any location you choose. To enter visit https://sparvirtualchallenge.co.za/.

• Under the Baobab Tree Show in Parktown

How does an entertaining (and educational) show at the National Children’s Theatre sound? We think pretty amazing and we’re booked! Under the Baobab Tree is a production that delivers a charming selection of traditional stories, vibrant songs, pulsating rhythms, African drums and lively dance to educate and entertain all primary school learners (ages four and up). This National Children’s Theatre production is a sprightly follow-on from NCT’s ground-breaking and Naledi award-winning production of Khokho’s Treasure. The show explodes onto the stage from June 19 to July 24. For further information contact Cindy on 011 484 1584, or visit Facebook: @NCTheatreSA or Instagram: @nctheatresa.

• Women’s Day celebration at Pretoria Zoo

Be strong, be confident and be you! Celebrate womanhood with food, music, fun and drinks to reflect on and empower women everywhere during a Women’s Day celebration at Pretoria Zoo on August 7. The theme is an all-white affair with a touch of yellow #DoeknShadesAllWhiteAffair. Visit their Facebook page for more information.

• Wear pink for trademark Women’s Day sporting event

The Totalsports Women’s Race will take place across three cities including Johannesburg on National Women’s Day. Each entrant will receive an official event T-shirt that was produced locally. The Totalsports Women’s Race proudly supports PinkDrive, a non-profit company (NPC) that is committed to improving breast cancer awareness, education, and providing and offering free services to the medically uninsured across South Africa. Online entries opened on Tuesday May 17 and will close on Tuesday July 26. Enter via www.totalsportswomensrace.co.za.

Get into the carnival spirit and experience among other live entertainment, music, a food court and market at the 2022 West Rand Carnival to be held over four days from September 8 to 11 in Ruimsig, Roodepoort.

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