On the evening of every first Thursday of the month in Cape Town people take to the CBD's streets in droves. They come to see the art in galleries, which are - unusually for the hour - open. They also come to be seen. And to eat and drink.
I think they come for another reason: to experience the city in the same way as they have places like Paris, Madrid, London, New York and Melbourne. But South Africa's realities of crime and grime don't allow the same experiences to be had. Except on First Thursdays - yes, it's a real live grown-up thing - that has spread to Stellenbosch and, of all places, Johannesburg. The point is to create a critical mass of people who have the money, the time and the inclination to roam the streets at night.
This First Thursday our evening started with a libation at the Gin Bar on Wale Street.
FROM there it was off to the HEAT Winter Arts Festival at the Bree Street Community Hall.
AND then to Youngblood Gallery further down Bree.
AS she always seems to be, Frida was there.
WE ended our evening at Clarke's Bar & Dining Room, also on Bree. I didn't take any pictures there because we all know what hipsters look like.
Maybe one day places like Cape Town will be as alive as this every night. Not just when First Thursday comes around again.
© 2026 Telford Vice. Words and photographs.