Journey Beyond Symphonic Circus - WIN tickets

Journey Beyond Symphonic Circus

A magical production! The Zip Zap Circus is joining forces with the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company, and the rousing voices of  Zolani Mahola, Zita Pretorius and Timothy Moloi to bring you Journey Beyond – Symphonic Circus. It will be on stage in Heritage Month, only for 3 days from 20-22 September at Joburg Theatre. Zip Zap’s founder, Brent van Rensburg, choreographer Adele Blank and conductor, Maestro Eddie Clayton, are excited to share this production.

2 sets of tickets (4 each) has been made available for a give-away. See below on how you can win. The previous time we heard about Zip-Zap Circus was at The Greatest Christmas at Menlyn last year. It was awesome!

ZIP ZAP Circus (photographer Joan Ward)

Aunty Merle The Musical - Top Notch

Aunty Merle (Marc Lottering character)

Joburg finally gets a chance to meet up with Aunty Merle from Belgravia Road, one of the oldest characters created by Marc Lottering.  She's all the hype and the SKINDER (gossip) worthy! Who does not know an aunt like her who knows everybody's business, and helps fixing where she can?

Aunty Merle the Musical is lots of laughs, some crying, family dynamics mixed with rich cultural diversities. Social commentary and politics are lightly interwoven, and we walk out of the Mandela Theatre with a beat in our step and a lighter look at our social political landscape. Four Fleur Du Cap Theatre nominations are well deserved.

Best night at the Phil Collins Tribute Show

We had such a great evening on Friday at the Phil Collins Tribute Show at Emperors Palace! One More Night is a brand new tribute show that features both the story, and the music of legend Phil Collins.

Vocalist and drummer Victor James Chapman does a great job capturing the music and the icon that is Phil Collins! Backed by a 10-piece band, they all contribute to a great evening with favourite hits such as Another Day in Paradise, Sussudio, Groovy Kind Of Love and You’ll Be In My Heart.

Phil Collins is part of our history! (Maybe just mine, but judging by the crowd on Friday night, I am not the only one!) The eighties was my high school and university years! It was part of growing up and becoming a person!

The two hours went by in a flash! It is definitely worth the drive to the East Rand!

On stage at the Theatre of Marcellus for three weeks from 17 November to 4 December. Great for a date night and great for the whole family as well!

The show is performed at 20h00 from Thursdays to Saturdays, with 15h00 matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets are priced from R150 per person (regret no children under the age of 4).  Bookings can be made through the Emperors Palace Box Office on 011 928 1297/1213 or by visiting www.emperorspalace.com.  Tickets are now open at Computicket online 

Disclaimer: We got 2 tickets for Friday"s VIP night!

The Working Mothers Expo - next time I am taking a day!

The Working Mothers Expo finally came around this past weekend. We went to the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday afternoon. I plan to take a day (at least) next time (in May!) to pamper and experience more than we could in an afternoon

I listened to two speakers, Janice Windt, the MD of Working Mothers Expo, and Shaney from You Baby and I.

Janice Windt

Janice Windt shared her parenting and career journey up until The Working Mothers Expo. She is already planning the next Working Mothers Expo for next year as well.

A great life hack from her: Life hack - take 5 min each day to write down priorities! 

Shan Vijendranath

Shan is a very successful blogger who stressed the importance of a social media strategy:

Her tips for a social media strategy include the following points:

1. Identify clear goals
2. Know your target market
3. Listen and compare, but stay authentic
4. Pick the right platforms
5. Build your brand
6. Mix it up by keeping up with Industry Trends
7. Engage your audience
8. Attract potential clients
9. Listen to your analytics
10. Plan and schedule

Little Miss loved the Bounce Inc area, and could not get enough! There were lots for her to do!

But next time I will definitely take a day to listen to more speakers, to take my time through the exhibitors, and to get a pamper in! (And maybe leave the rest of the family at home...)

I finally found the Mooncup (menstrual cup) at the Expo, but that warrants its own post.



Disclaimer: We got a family ticket for one day at the Expo.

Decorex 2016 - One day is not enough!

One day is not enough to catch everything that is in store at Decorex Johannesburg.
It is a true décor and design inspiration of ideas!

There are seven halls and over 22 000sqm of exhibition space showcasing the latest décor and design trends, products and services.
The theme: ‘Take it Home, Make it Home’

Africa’s premier décor, design and lifestyle exhibition promises something for everyone looking to renovate, restore, build or decorate. Running alongside the show, which takes place from 5 to 9 August at the
Gallagher Convention Centre, is the perennially popular 100% Design South Africa, a draw-card exhibition that provides a unique platform for leading local and international design names to present a carefully curated mix of top-drawer products.

I tried to catch some of the inspiration on SnapChat (@karentoittoit) , but it will be gone in in a few hours.

Here are some of our photos:

Decorex 2016 will still be on tomorrow!

For more inspiration:


Decorex Facebook
Decorex Twitter
Decorex Instagram


Disclaimer: We received tickets to attend the show!

Dora's Pirate Adventure - an interactive magical musical stage show

Dora's Pirate Adventure at Emperor's Palace

Dora the Explorer Live! It's a great experience for all children who can't get enough from Dora on Nickelodeon. We thought that Little Miss would be bored with it, but not at all! She even declared that it was her "best day" after the show. She arrived in a foul mood because she fell asleep in the hectic afternoon traffic to the South, and it was not a good day at school!
But Dora changed it for her!

Dora’s Pirate Adventure has already been to Durban. It is now on at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg from 7-12 July, and they are opening up more shows on Monday! They are finally dropping anchor at the Grand Arena, Grand West Casino, in Cape Town from 15-17 July.

Dora and her pals Boots and Diego are on a voyage of discovery as they embark on an exciting trip to Treasure Island in search of the ultimate pirate party. It's a very interactive show asking the children to help them to navigate over the Dancing Mountain and through the Silly Singing Bridge in pursuit of the Pirate Piggies. The kids enjoy waving their flags and singing and dancing along. My fun came from watching the children being mesmerised! Dora the Explorer fans use their map-reading, counting, musical and language skills to help Dora reach Treasure Island and avoid that pesky fox, Swiper!

We attended Thursday night's show at Emperor's Palace.

Miss Earth finalists

Nick Jr. cupcakes

The kids love a hug from Dora

Bubbles at the end of Dora's Pirate Adventure

It's a great outing for the family during the holidays!

For more information: Nickelodeon Africa 
Twitter @NickAfrica
Instagram @Nickelodeon_Africa
Facebook at Nickelodeon


Disclaimer: We got tickets to attend the show.

A stunning spectacular for the whole family: Mystic India

#MysticIndiaSA

We were invited to the launch of Mystic India at The Teatro at Montecasino on Tuesday night!
It starts today, 29 April until the 1st of May. (Why for such a short time?)
It is stunning!
It is spectacular! 

Go see it!! You won't be disappointed!
(I would take my Littlest and Eldest as well!)

Mystic India

 I have always had a fascination with Indian music. My mother worked with an Indian co-worker while I was still at school, and he used to send me the latest Indian music of the time (1980s oh boy!). I was mesmerized! We also came across many belly-dancing techniques from the Indian dance move culture while I was busy doing belly dancing classes. The Indian culture is rich and fascinating!

Mystic India - the formal talk:

"Seen by over half a million people during countless worldwide performances and tours, Mystic India is an internationally acclaimed Bollywood music and dance spectacular based on the concept of ancient India’s transition into modern India.  

Featuring some 22 talented musicians, brilliant dancers, mind-boggling aerialists and acrobats, as well as 750 lavish costume changes, the show is bound to keep you at the edge of your seat. The flamboyant costumes and extravagant sets have been custom-designed in India’s film capital by a team of 40 creative designers and collaborators over the course of the last four years.  

This production intertwines a mesmerising combo: Traditional India meets the urban streets of Mumbai and New York. It is hip and trendy with all the glitter and bling to make it an all-out sensory sensation. This feast showcases Bollywood at its finest and audiences can brace themselves for an explosion of colour and energy.  

Audience members will be invited along for a festive journey through Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and even through the evolution of Bollywood films via a visual display that fuses dance, theatre and special effects."

My photos does not do it any justice!

Mystic India

Bollywood in South Africa ! - Mystic India so much energy and Colour! #mysticindiasa #theblubloodway https://t.co/ngYLRubSDj

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) 26 April 2016

Wow! Photos don't do this justice! #mysticindiasa #theblubloodway @MONTECASINOZA pic.twitter.com/Um150A9PI1

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) 26 April 2016

Just go and see it!


Hubby and I made it a date night, and tried out Deena's Aarya at Montecasino. It was our first time there! (definitely not the last)
The Indian curry paired very well  with the show!

Deena's Aarya

On the red carpet

Little Missy has been asking us to also go to a musical event. She gets very upset when she sees that we have been to a show and that she was not there.

I took her along to an Afrikaans music show on Friday. I thought that she would enjoy it, especially since she is always complaining that "hulle praat nie my taal nie" (they do not speak my language). We are being asked to translate the English songs playing on the radio.

She loved it! But sitting quietly for one and half hours is not a strong point yet!
It was an exercise in patience and "shhh..." on my side. Especially when she asked whether the artist is a boy or a girl. Very loud!

She was also very interested in the artist in the wheelchair, and why are his legs not working?

I was thankful for a packet of sweets and chewing gum in my bag. Next time I will remember to bring water  along as well. I had to distract her for longer than an hour because she was thirsty! (She had a drink just before the show).

I also had to dislodge chewing gum from her fingers, and mine, when she was finished with it. I ended up chewing the gum, and dislodged another piece of a tooth which needs to be fixed now!

I breathed a huge sign of relief when the show ended!

We will be going to more shows! But next time we will be sitting in the corner, near the isles, and not in the middle of the theatre!

At the Festival with a Little One - #Aardklop

Going to a festival with a Little One is a total different ball-game!

We went only for a day; on Saturday. The Potchefstroom Clover Aardklop festival, with mostly Afrikaans cultural shows, music and theater shows, was on for the past week. The Student was working at the festival for the whole week, and we missed her! It was great to see her for half an hour in-between her work schedule.

We were a bit lot disgusted that we had to pay such a huge amount to get into the festival area. The previous years there were no fees involved. You had access to everything. Which meant that we did not go there at all! And I was salivating for the obligatory fish and sweet potato tent...

But there were still lots to do in Potchefstroom!

We spend some time at the swings. (As you do!)

The venue for the show had lots to keep the children busy.

We watched a show about fairies, and got the photo next to her favourite fairy in the play.
Little Missy loved it!

Droombos se nuwe prinsessie
(Dream forest's new princess)

After the play we spent some time at the River Cafe.

The view from River Cafe

Great food, although they only have a small kitchen,
and you have to wait a bit longer

We will come back to this place. It was a great way to end the day in Potch!

And then it was back on the road before it was too dark...


A total different way to spend at an Art Festival, but we wouldn't want it any other way!


How was you weekend?

Hooked on Ballet

I like to take the Toddler to a ballet concert at least once a year. She enjoys it soooo much, and I think she gets an idea of what it is all about!

This year we had tickets for a show, and the show got cancelled a week before the time.

Luckily a friend of mine told me about their children's end-of-year concert of the Dance School Hooked on Dance.

Leigh-Anne Gorrie, the Principal Dance Mistress, presented a whole show with her fledgling and more advanced dancers in different genres of dance styles.

The littlest ones were once again the stars of the show. These two twins (on the right) had us laughing smiling about their antics on stage.

We had a Toddler enthralled!
With a regular chirp-in: "Where's Cara?" and "There's Cara!" (one of the friends in the show)


It definitely inspired our Toddler, because she has been commanding us to sit down countlessly to watch our Toddler dance at home...

A tantrum because I did not watch 100%

Next year I will definitely make a more concerted effort to get us tickets for a ballet show.

Related posts:

A night at the ballet - Don Quixote

Taking a break and first ballet for the Toddler

The Sleeping Beauty - Ballet

Movie Clip Monday #21 - Toddler skipping after watching Don Quixote ballet

The Toddler loved her first classical ballet, and she was hopping and skipping away after ten on Friday night!

See yesterday's post:
A night at the ballet - Don Quixote 

Movie Clip Monday on loan from Tasneem at MumDrum.

A night at the ballet - Don Quixote

We took the Toddler to her first classical ballet, Don Quixote, at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City on Friday night.

We were worried about the show starting at 8:15, which is her usual bed-time. Also that she would not be able to sit still for the duration of the show.

The Toddler loved it. She sat transfixed for most of the first pat, with only her legs rhythmically moving to the music.

The second part of the show got a bit more challenging.
The Toddler was so impressed with some of the moves, she wanted to practice them right there and then. I had to push down the little legs flying past our heads, and hoping the people in the back did not mind the legs and arms flying up in the air.

She sat through the whole show, and was skipping away after that. I am planning to put up a Movie Clip Monday tomorrow to show her happily walking with her dad after the ballet.

She was up at seven the next day, and there was no problems at the school concert.
She told us she is a sheep, and we were checking all the little sheep on stage...

It turns out she is an angel in the concert! (What's up with that?)

Of course, she was very cute, singing and clapping away on stage.

She saw me once in the audience, and we could see her mouth "Mamma!"
We realized again that she is definitely older, because there was no sign of the crying of the previous year with her first concert!

She is a big girl now!

Dragonflies & Astronauts: Beautiful!

The picture of a sleeping toddler was not to be on Saturday night when we went to see a show of The Parlotones…


We usually don’t have a problem and at eight (nine perhaps on a weekend) she goes down, but Saturday she was bright and breezy!
Murphy does not sleep!

But we left the Toddler with the Teen. We haven’t done that much up until now!
You would think that we have a babysitting minder in-house… But, we mostly prefer to take the Toddler with. If that’s not an option, we leave her with her grandparents!

We worry about that “what if?” something very bad happens! (Just in case…)

Anyhow, we left the Teen and Toddler with a Barbie movie! And it went well! Except for lots of bed jumping that had to be endured, apparently…
(The Teen doesn’t mind at all, because she is getting a bit of pocket money!)

We went to see the live 3D movie of The Parlotones show of Dragonflies & Astronauts! It was incredible! Some of their best music in a great post-apocalyptic (?) show! Loved it! They had some problems sorting out the technicalities in the first songs, but from there we were with them on the stage!

We were sitting with our 3D goggles, and I wanted so much to take a picture. Imagine me with the blackberry with the 3D goggles in front of it! I only got this very poor image…

I hope there is a DVD coming out? I hope they do it again?
I want some more!
In the meantime I am listening to all their songs…

Yes, it was nice! (I am officially a Parlotones groupie now!)