Goo ha e le borotto o mmathele

Five years ago, two determined young DeeJays put their creative heads together and vowed to bring festive entertainment to the bored masses in the Tswapong north region.

And thus ‘Tswapian Bolus’ was born, an annual festival in the village of Maunatlala, 65km east of Palapye.

The brainchild of Olorato Gaoganetswe (DJ Olga) and Barona Ngwako (DJ Smallz), the Christmas cracker comes complete with catchy tagline ‘Goo ha e le borotto o mmathele’ (If it’s bread may I have a piece) – a phrase taken from one of the many stereotypes about Batswapong and their love for bread.

Despite numerous challenges, chief amongst them a lack of finances, the event has shown great growth over the years.

With Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) now wanting a piece of the action, coming aboard through their popular beverage St Louis, this year’s edition is set to be the best yet.

“For the first time we have a corporate sponsor, and that is so refreshing. All these years it has been a struggle and we have never made any profits but we are still pushing harder than ever before,” Gaoganetswe told Voice Entertainment recently.

Retracing the festival’s steps to the very beginning, the Disk Jockey explained DJs T4 and Bobo joined himself and Ngwako as organisers. Together they made a formidable quartet that has stood the test of time since 2014.

“We wanted a show that would be the pride of Batswapong. It is all about our identity, hence the ‘bolus’ which is used to identify our cattle in the country,” said Gaoganetswe, adding the idea was to get fellow Batswapong to return home every festive season for their dose of the ‘bolus’.

Since the initiative’s inception, it has always been headlined by local acts.

“We’ve always wanted to give local artists a chance because we believe in their capabilities. This again has given artists based in the Tswapong area an opportunity to really to show the nation what they are made of,” he highlighted, noting they plan to bring an international act for the show’s 10th anniversary.

The self-driven DJ revealed together with his partners, they have been sponsoring the festival from their pockets for the past five years.

“People joined us and left, but we persevered,” he added.

With KBL’s substantial weight now behind them, Gaoganetswe is visibly excited at what the future holds for ‘Tswapian Bolus’.

He pledged to continue unearthing talent in Tswapong, including other small businesses.

“The food stalls, promo girls and boys are also 100 percent from Tswapong. We play our role in supporting local brands as well as giving contributions to the needy as a way of showing appreciation to our beloved followers.”

This year, the 25 December festival has attracted three superstar headliners, with Franco, Slizer and Dr Vom set to take to the stage.

The line-up also includes: Mlesho, Crispin The Drummer, DJs Shaboo, T4, Olga, Smallz and Black Prince as the Master of Ceremonies. Pre-sold ticket is P80.

Email:kdipholo@thevoicebw.com
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