2011 Vodacom Aryan Benevolent Home Fair set to rock Chatsworth this month

Chatsworth will once again be the place to be this July, with the exciting annual Vodacom Aryan Benevolent Home Chatsworth Fair set to descend upon Chatsworth's Arena Park later this month between 27 - 31 July 2011. The five day event will be featuring a bustling market with over 200 exhibitor and retail stalls, as well as a jam-packed entertainment and activities programme that includes a multitude of bands and musicians, the Edu-Fair, comedians and dancers.

The Edu-Fair, which looks to take advantage of the fact that an estimated 20 000 learners visit this event each year, will be featuring exhibits such as: Reptiles and More, Road Safety, Waterworks, SAPS, Fire Department, as well as many competitions and give-aways for school children. There will also be a host of awareness campaigns, and these will include exhibitions about AIDS and Drug Abuse. The popular Senior Citizens Programme will be occurring on 27th July, and will offer seniors free entrance to the Fair, as well as a meal. Specialised on-stage entertainment is also provided.

The top quality entertainment programme has something for every member of the family, with such acts as the South Indian Music Group, Luxmi Ragam, Sa-Re-Ga-Ma (a surprise item from India), Men In Black, the Eastern Dance Extravaganza, the Conchords, the Rising Sun Pop Idols and Talent Search, the finals of the Golden Jewellers Bollywood Dance Competition, Haji Fazil Chisti (the internationally famous Qawali group from Phoenix) as well as much more.

The popular Chetty's Funfair will once again be in attendance, and their breathtaking rides are sure to be a most popular component of the show. Saturday (30 July) will offer everyone at the Vodacom ABH Chatsworth Fair the chance to watch a magnificent fireworks display. Thanks to title sponsors Vodacom, festival-goers will also have the chance to win a BlackBerry 9300 on Saturday (30 July) at 17h00, as well as an all-new WebBox at 17h00 on Sunday (31 July).

This event was established over 23 years ago, and Vodacom has been title sponsors of the Fair since 2004. Alberts Breed, Vodacom KZN's Managing Executive, said that "we are immensely proud to be able to enter into our eighth consecutive year of association with the Aryan Benevolent Home. The tireless work undertaken by our partners and event organizers, the Aryan Benevolent Home, is nothing short of phenomenal and their contribution to society cannot go unnoticed. Vodacom prides itself on caring about communities, and that is why we are happy to be able to lend our continued support to an event such as this". Breed also said that "our investment in an organisation that has for the past 88 years assisted in alleviating human suffering and made a tangible difference to the lives of the less fortunate in our country is one of the ways that Vodacom seeks to empower its customers. The Chatsworth community is very important to us at Vodacom, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their continued support and loyalty".

The Aryan Benevolent Home was established from the humblest of beginnings way back in 1921 and now provides life-changing and life-saving assistance to in excess of 1400 people. Originally catering for the homeless, the organisation now has the ability to deal with a vast number of pathologies, including institutional care for the aged and disabled, respite care to victims of domestic violence and natural and unforeseen disasters, temporary accommodation for destitute persons or families, as well as paramedical services such as physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy and social work intervention, to name but a few. Work such as this is time and labour intensive, and the Aryan Benevolent Home has over 400 fulltime staff whose presence is allowed for thanks in part to funds raised during their marquee event.