Kirstenbosch Winter Concert Series

Come and enjoy Cape Town 's top musical talent in the warmth of the beautiful Silvertree Restaurant at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Tickets include a welcome drink and soup, and patrons are also welcome to have a main course or dessert and coffee during or after the concert. The annual event continues from the summer sunset concerts (November to April), ensuring visitors a treat in classical and contemporary music all year round. Call 021 799 8783 for more Kirstenbosch event information.

Venue: Silvertree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch Gardens;

Website: www.sanbi.org

Cape Gourmet Festival

Widely acknowledged as South Africa's premier food, wine, travel and lifestyle event, the annual Gourmet Festival is a blend of culinary events showcasing its restaurant industry to the rest of the world. It is the only African associate of the esteemed World Gourmet Club in St Moritz and is the finest culinary festival on the continent, highlighting international as well as local foods. Incorporated into the extravaganza is the Good Food and Wine Show, the pinnacle of the festival, where chefs cook the best of contemporary South African cuisine.

Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC);

Website: www.gourmetsa.com

Spring wild flowers © Darling Wildflower Festival

Spring wildflowers

The West Coast National Park incorporates the Langebaan Lagoon and wetland areas, which are the habitat of thousands of migratory and resident waterbirds, a rocky coastline with some beautiful sea views and beaches, and wildlife scattered about the interior bush. It also encompasses the rocky Postberg Peninsula that is carpeted in a glorious tapestry of wildflowers every spring (open August to September only). Visitors come from near and far to see the spectacularly colourful display that the pre-summer season produces all along the west coast. The small town of Darling is at the centre of the wildflower region; visitors can walk around the surrounding wildflower reserves and real enthusiasts can visit the Darling Wildflower Show where extravagant displays include the botanical and common names of all flowers exhibited. Call the Flower Hotline on 083 910 1028 for up-to-date information all year round.

Venue: Postberg Section of the West Coast National Park;

Website: www.darlingwildflowers.co.za

Southern Right Whale breaching © South African Tourism

Hermanus Whale Festival

Celebrating the Southern Right Whale, the annual festival offers art and crafts, theatre, music, a half marathon and surf festival in addition to some of the best shore-based whale watching opportunities in the world. Hermanus boasts the world's only Whale Crier who alerts visitors to whale sightings with a kelp horn every day during whale season. Every year from July to September the Southern Right Whales travel thousands of miles to the southern coast of South Africa to mate and calve in the bays.

Venue: Hermanus;

Website: www.whalefestival.co.za

Farm Flesh, MCQP 2002 © MCQP

Mother City Queer Project (MCQP) Costume Party

Now in its 14th year, the 12-hour MCQP party is the biggest annual gay event in South Africa, attracting a diverse crowd of people from around the world. Each year party-goers come in teams dressed according to the theme that changes every year (Matric Dance - Back to School in 2007). Costumes are usually elaborate, sexy and worn without inhibition, and the event is immensely popular with both gay and straight communities. Different dance arenas play various types of music to party the night away.

Venue: Cape Town High School;

Website: www.mcqp.co.za

Wavescapes © www.wavescapes.co.za

Wavescapes

The first festival of its kind in South Africa, Wavescapes Surf Film Festival launched in December 2004, and is an annual, national event that showcases the best international and local surf films following the popular revival of big screen surf movies around the world. In celebration of 'Surf-Afrikan' beach culture, top surf films will be shown to beachgoers and holidaymakers in venues that include outdoor screenings on the beach using South Africa's first inflatable cinema-sized screen.

Venue: Labia Cinema, Brass Bell pub, Clifton 4th beach;

Website: www.wavescapes.co.za