About Kimberley

Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape and the town where South Africa's 1871 diamond rush began, leaving behind the Big Hole, one of the largest hand-dug excavations in the world and now a major heritage attraction with an adjoining mine museum. The rush drew prospectors including a young Cecil John Rhodes, who founded De Beers Consolidated Mines here, and the city's Victorian-era streets and the McGregor Museum still trace that history. Kimberley is also a university town, home to Sol Plaatje University, named after the writer and political figure who lived there. Its dry, flat surrounds on the edge of the Karoo make it a hub for the wider Diamond Fields region.

Kimberley's spring line-up opens with a touring concert, Appel Live in Kimberley, at the Fire Restaurant and Venue. Theatre follows with Skyf at the Roman Catholic Church Hall, while runners test themselves at the Kimberley Bighole Marathon later in October. Music festivals multiply from there too, led by the Kimberley 50's Music Festival Gospel And Matric Prayer, and the month closes out with Here & Now - A Luther Vandross Tribute.