Newsletter
Summer-Autumn Newsletter- March 2012
It is very difficult to believe that we are almost at the end of the third month of a year that seemed to only have begun a few days ago. On reflection – looking at all that we have achieved in the last few months – it is much less surprising that time seems to have flown by. As a result, I am presenting you with quite a “newsy” newsletter which conflicts somewhat with the current trend of sound bite information, so here’s hoping you enjoy this throwback to a bygone era (it’s what we do best!).
The Casa Labia Café
Our café, under the expert management of Tania Mill, has been busier than ever before. We have added a few tables to the verandah on the sea view side of the house and these have proved to be an absolute triumph. In fact, so popular is the one table closest to the sea that it is booked weeks in advance, and if not booked is pounced upon and viciously guarded once ownership is secured. A photograph of the view from the verandah goes a long way to explaining the appeal.
We tried our first dinner sitting at the café to celebrate Valentines Day, which sold out in no time at all and was an unreserved success. With a specially prepared menu and lovely treats on offer from our friends at Villiera Wines and Lindt chocolates, diners were able to revel in the opulence and grandeur of the venue in her evening splendor. Such was the success of this evening that we offered another dinner sitting, this time with a most appropriate “Godfather” theme on Tuesday the 13th of March. Guests really got into the spirit of things and many a 1930’s inspired outfit was on show on the night and one lucky table walked away with a meal voucher for all the effort they put in to looking the part. The final themed dinner before we head into our season of wine-maker hosted dinners (more information to follow soon) will take place on the 17th of April. This dinner will celebrate our situation on the tip of the continent with an “Out of Africa” themed evening. So dust off the old pith helmet, give the riding boots a polish and saddle up your Zebra and pioneer on down to Casa Labia. We will also be making a donation to the South Africa Wildlife College’s Anti-Rhino Poaching training based on the evening’s turn over, so there’s even more reason to join us.
John Treleaven triumph
Another evening affair that proved to be an enormous success was the John Treleaven opera concert we hosted on the evening of the 22nd of February. Mr. Treleaven, one of the world’s leading opera tenors, performed a selection of German and English love songs and finished off the evening’s musical entertainment with an astounding rendition of Puccini’s classic, Nessun Dorma. Following the rapturous applause, Mr. Treleaven offered the audience a unique insight into his life and the trials and tribulations of a touring opera great with a delightful question and answer session. The event was yet another triumph for us and would certainly not have been at all possible were it not for the most generous support of Citadel Wealth Management and the hard work and dedication of the Casa Labia staff. Thank you one and all.
Weddings update
Our beautiful home is fast becoming Cape Town’s most sought after intimate wedding venue and it is indeed a privilege for us to be part of each wedding that takes place here.
Some of the more recent weddings included Fleur and Mathew’s fabulously fun St Patrick’s Day-themed wedding which has had compliments flowing thick and fast. In late January, Yaninka and Ryan tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony on our carpet-like lawn. The garden was bathed in sunlight and looked amazing as the happy couple said their “I do’s” and started their new life together.
Early in February, we were also thrilled to be part of Danieka and Michael’s very special wedding day. It was a glorious day in Muizenberg and one can get a real sense of just how spectacular a wedding venue Casa Labia is by having a look at the images taken by Bruce and Rebecca from “Love Made Visible”- they really captured the mood of the day and these photos took our breath away!
Casa Labia would like to wish all the couples a lifetime of love, laughter and many, many years of happiness together. A big thank you to Emma for all the effort she puts in to ensure that each event is a truly unique and wonderfully personal occasion.
Casa Labia as an events venue…
I feel it is an opportune moment for me to explain why it is that the events business is so important to what we do here at the Casa Labia Cultural Centre. It is worth emphasizing that we are first and foremost a cultural venue, offering a unique and valuable cultural experience to the people of Cape Town. As I am sure you can all well understand, the hosting of concerts, lectures, art classes, museum tours and all the other items that make our cultural programme such a full and exciting one are hosted not without significant cost to us as a venue. Add to this the care and attention our Grande Dame requires, especially given that she lives so close to the sea, and you are left with significant monthly running costs. The subsequent use of the house as a wedding venue, or as a location for the occasional film shoot helps us cover some of those costs and without the events, there is no way that we could even consider offering the diverse cultural programme that we currently do. It is with this in mind that I ask for your continued understanding when we are obliged to close the café for an afternoon or alter our normal operations in some way in order for us to accommodate some of these events. Wherever possible we all try very hard to limit the disruption to you, our patrons, and are most appreciative of your understanding and patience in this regard.
The Casa Labia Dream Team
This year’s Pick ‘n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour saw a new team of budding cycling superstars make somewhat of an impact on the race. All 10 members of the Casa Labia Dream Team donned their rather zooty Casa Labia cycling kit and completed the grueling 110km’s around the Peninsula all in an attempt to help the Early Learning Centre on the Flower Valley Farm in Stanford. The monies raised will go a long way to improving the school’s art department as well as to ensuring that the children in this somewhat forgotten corner of the Western Cape get a decent education. The exact amount of money raised by the team has yet to be tallied, and in fact can still be added to. Should you wish to contribute to this most worthy of causes, please contact Sally in the administration office and she will give you all the details of how to do so. We are all very proud of our grounds man Clyford who powered his way to a commendable finish in the race and had an absolute ball doing so. So proud is he of his achievement that he now goes about his daily duties with his medal firmly around his neck. Well done team!
Harvest time
Great news from the garden is that our little vineyard on the hill has produced its first crop and we have vinified the first wine! Unfortunately the quantities are very small at the moment as the vines are still young and very low yielding, but it certainly is a promising start. Plans are afoot to repair the terraces on the slope up towards Boyes Drive and expand the vine planting even more. We have employed the services of a landscape architect to help us discover the extent of the terraces and to determine how they can be rescued to create something quite magnificent.
So who knows, perhaps Muizenberg may yet rival Condrieu’s Chateaux-Grillet in both size of appellation and even quality of product?! Please don’t hesitate to hunt me down should you visit us and I will gladly walk you through the vineyard and explain my thinking – if only to try and convince myself that I am not completely mad!
The Casa Labia Gallery and the Africa Nova evolution
We are thrilled to announce that the Casa Labia Gallery has entered into a very exciting collaboration with renowned gallerist, Joao Ferreira. The maiden exhibition of this partnership “MOVEMENT/MOMENT” is a wonderful look at how two artists have captured movement in both painting, photography and sculpture. The gallery and this exhibition are open to all, so please come and experience this delightful collection of work.
Africa Nova, the much-loved art shop, has temporarily closed as we shuffle a few things around for the new exhibition. We look forward to sharing with you the exciting new direction that this space will take in the near future.
All that now remains is for me to thank you all very much for your continued support and we look forward to seeing more of you as we enter the “Secret Season”. The Autumn winds are ushering in some absolutely spectacular days here on the peninsula and there really is no better place to watch the world go by.
Kind regards,
Gareth and the Casa Labia Team
Spring Newsletter – October 2011
Dear Friends of Casa labia
With the winds shifting direction slightly here in Muizenberg and heralding the much anticipated change of season, we shrug off our jumpers to embrace our shirt sleeves, welcoming the arrival of Spring with renewed energy and sense of fun.
On the 12th November we will be launching “Picnics on the Lawn” at Casa Labia. We are hugely excited about this, most especially as it ties in perfectly with the anniversary of the first ever event held at Casa Labia 81 years ago, in celebration of the King Of Italy’s birthday! Our picnics will surely be less grand but will provide a wonderful setting for a fun family day out, with the most magnificent mountain AND ocean view in Cape Town! Hampers are R285 per couple and include delicacies such as Vegetable and Bulgar Wheat salad, Judy’s Famous Chicken Liver Pate, Butternut Hummus, Home-made Foccaccia bread, Italian Prosciutto and Salami and decadent Chocolate Brownies and fruit skewers to end off with! To book a hamper please contact the café and look out for a surprise for the kids…
Also very exciting news in the café is our new menu which will be launching in early December, so please bring family and friends to sample our summer delights!
The Spring / Summer Casa Labia Cultural Programme expertly compiled by Jacky Folley has been released and promises yet another season of exciting events, lectures and other interesting activities. We have a special Christmas concert planned on the 9th December and Jacky is already hard at work with rehearsals. The concert has added significance this year as we are hoping to raise some funds for the wonderful animal welfare organization TEARS, and will be full of Christmas spirit for the whole family including mince pies, festive wine and a wonderful performance by Barry Smith on the piano and the Intermediate group of Masque Theatre Drama School. Don’t miss out on Ed Saunder’s lecture series and visit the website www.casalabia.co.za for more…
In the gallery we are extremely excited to host Cheryl Rumbak from Kalk Bay Modern and her superb curated show entitled ‘Art on Paper’ open to the public on the 19th October. This is a very exciting opportunity for Casa Labia and we thank Cheryl for bringing her expertise to our gallery. Cheryl has carefully selected a fantastic line up of artworks for both the art lover as well as the investment buyer;
Artists featured include William Kentridge, Deborah Bell, Peter Clarke, Penny Siopis, Macomb Payne, Wilma Cruise, Cecil Skotnes, Anne Sassoon, Colbert Mashile, Judith Mason, Willem Boshoff, Bonwen Findlay, Nat Mokgosi, Diane Victor and David Koloane. The exhibition also showcases some of our country’s rising starts such as Jane Eppel, Michele Tabor, Paul Molete, John Murray, Kate Gottgens, Fiona Pole and Conrad Botes.
In other gallery news, In Bloom 2 will be opening at the beginning of December and promises a visual feast for the eye, but more information on that to follow…
Our events business is also picking up nicely thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Events Manager Emma Vaughan who has ensured that we have a wedding booked every month from now until April – Well done Emma! New to the events calendar is the “Casa Labia Movie Night”, with surprise film showings every other month. Our first screening went exceptionally well so stay tuned for news of the next film. We also have an extremely exciting musical event lined up in February 2012 with acclaimed International Opera singer John Treleaven performing in Cape Town, at Casa Labia, for one night only, brought to you in association with Citadel. We will bring you more information on this in January but let me just say now that this promises to be an extremely exciting event not only for Casa Labia but also for the musical community of Cape Town in general… so watch out for more information on how to book!
To ensure that we are all fit and healthy as we enter the sunny season, we have begun a few new initiatives that are proving very popular and great fun too. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, Maya Pfaff leads a yoga class from one of the upstairs rooms with glorious views and relaxing ocean noises completing the soul-enriching experience and we have also introduced a Saturday morning exercise class on the lawn under the expert guidance of Casa Labia’s very own personal trainer, Catherine Priday. Should either of these activities interest you, please contact the administration office.
The gardens are really showing superbly at the moment and all the original plantings have matured wonderfully thanks to the foresight of our horticultural advisor Hank Lith as well as the kind help and advice of our neighbour, Emily Dibb. The garden flourishes thanks to the generous care given by Clyford our estate manager. The vines too are beginning to bud again and we have recently planted an olive grove on one of the terraces and look forward to harvesting some eating and oil olives in a few years time. Do remember to stroll in the garden the next time you visit us!
Our family has done some growing of its own and our baby daughter Amelie Ida Grace is now 3 months old! She has already popped in on a few occasions with mom and dad and seems very approving of the Casa Labia. Everyone’s favorite administrator, Sally-Anne Sole, has also had a little daughter Maddison Sophia join her family so we can look forward to lots of fun with the young ones in the years to come.
Finally, none of what we do here at Casa Labia would be at all possible were it not for you, our loyal supporter. A very big thank you to all who attend the lectures and concerts, dabble in the art classes or peruse the art in our gallery, as well as to those of you who dine regularly in our café.
We are, as ever, hugely appreciative of your ongoing support.
Happy Spring time and see you soon!
Antonia
Winter Newsletter – July 2011
As I write this I am blessed by a huge change in my life; our two week old daughter is gurgling away next to me. Amelie Ida Grace was born safely on the 7th July 2011, the next generation of the Hardres-Williams/ Labia family entering the world and bringing immense joy with her!
And so winter 2011 marks a period of change for the staff of Casa Labia Cultural Centre. With Sally-Anne’s pregnancy coming to an end in August, and the birth of our baby girl in July, we have had to make a few staff adjustments.
For the next few months I will continue to take a back seat – not invisible altogether – but handing over the management reigns to my very capable husband to keep an eye on things. It’s not a strict maternity leave for me, but this sharing of responsibility gives me the time and flexibility to devote my energy to our daughter for the remainder of the year. No doubt Amelie and I will be visiting Casa Labia often, especially as the weather starts to get warmer and the garden begins to bloom in spring.
Gareth brings with him a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, a keen marketing, PR and business mind, and complete commitment to the success of this family enterprise. I have no doubt that his input will be extremely valuable to Casa Labia and I join with the rest of the Casa Labia staff in welcoming him to the team.
From August until January we wish Sally-Anne a happy maternity leave and safe delivery of her baby. She will be much missed but I am sure this next chapter in her life will open up a whole new world to Sally and Geoff. From the whole Casa Labia team – Good Luck Sal and enjoy!
Our excellent Programme’s Coordinator, Jacky Folley, has been hard at work as usual, planning interesting lectures and workshops. Please look at our website or notice board for a full list and all prices, but a few highlights include; continued tours of the house by Estelle Jacobs and Jacky Folley. These can be booked at any time for any number of people and provide a fascinating insight into the art collection, the history of the house and the Labia family as well as information on the current exhibition in the gallery. June Botha will be lecturing on the 24th August again, her first lecture was very popular and this one promises to be equally so. Friend of Casa Labia, Lloyd Pollak, will be lecturing again on the 3rd August and on the 17th August Concert Pianist from New York, Kathleen Tagg, will be performing as part of our regular Cocktail Concert series. Stan and Van – the favourite artistic duo – are back and their workshops are on and filling up fast for September and October. As always, our Up and Coming concerts are popular on Saturday afternoons (no charge for these) and enjoy live piano music performed on our grand piano in the Ballroom, every Wednesday from 12h30, with Henry, our brilliant in-house pianist!
Brad Liebl will be performing at a Musical High Tea this Sunday.
Tickets are R160.00 per person, which includes the concert, Afternoon Tea
and a complimentary glass of bubbly. Brad will be singing popular favourites from the world of musicals and this will be
accompanied by a delicious Afternoon Tea – a perfect winter treat for the family.
Despite the winter chill we have enjoyed being part of many wonderful celebrations and charity fundraisers at Casa Labia. In April we were part of Kelly and Daryne‘s very special ‘movie’ themed wedding, complete with popcorn machine and photo booth! Our Ballroom, Drawing Room and Dining room remain a popular choice for private dinners and functions including a retirement party for the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust ; an 18th century Venetian Ball birthday party and a 90th Birthday lunch. In May the Safer Together Winter Soiree fundraiser took place. It was a superb evening of musical performances from 11 artists, a show of ballroom gowns from Mystic Rose in Kalk Bay and delicious canapés prepared by our fantastic Cafe. Safer Together is a volunteer organisation that works in support of community safety initiatives in the Greater Muizenberg area and we were pleased to be involved in this community event. The rest of 2011 is set to be very busy with a wedding booked every month from November to April! We will be launching our 2011 Gold and Platinum cocktail party packages in August, so give me a call to book your company’s end of year celebration.
Akojo to Lewa (A Beautiful Collection), our exhibition of Nigerian Textiles, has been very successful. Particularly special were the school visits from Muizenberg Junior School, hosted by Jacky Folley and Clare Graaf.
For the month of August we are hosting a special exhibition in the Conference Room called “Wild Within”. A collection of photographs by Liz Hardman, Wild Within is a photo essay recorded over a two year period showing episodes of baboon life. The majority were taken in the Miller’s Point area and portray the many challenges faced by these remarkable and complex primates. In contrast to the scenes of baboons at play or foraging for natural foods, are frames of car raiding and chaos as a result of negative human interaction. Through this exhibition the photographer hopes to engender an appreciation of these wild creatures as an integral part of our natural heritage. Also on exhibit are winning pictures of the local schools art competition sponsored by the photographer.
Guest speaker, Ms Tali Hoffman, will also be giving a series of talks on the Southern Peninsula’s baboon troops.
In the main gallery area, ‘ArtSideIn’, a new and innovative addition to the art world, will be curating an independent commercial art exhibition from Wednesday 17th August to Sunday 9th October 2011, styled “Intimate Spaces”. This exhibition will feature an exciting array of new artworks by; inter alia, Makiwa Mutomba, Nicole Susan Pletts, Daniel Novela and Sue Greeff. The medium of the artworks will be oil on canvas, oil and mixed media on canvas, acrylic and mixed media on canvas & charcoal and mixed media on paper. The artworks selected from each artist for this exhibition have been handpicked and will jointly make for an eclectic selection of art. There will be something to appeal to everyone, no matter how diverse the taste.
In September, Sheryl from Kalk Bay Modern will be curating a show of ‘Works on Paper’… more information on this and Casa Labia in Bloom (2) to follow in the next newsletter!
specials this winter;Breakfast Special
Receive a complimentary Truth Americano or Truth Flat White coffee per person,
with every breakfast ordered for tables of two or more * (available Tuesday – Sunday)
*does not include Scones or MuffinsWinter Warmer Special
Home-made Soup or Pasta of the Day, served with fresh bread and a complimentary
glass of house red or white wine – R60 pp (Tuesday – Friday)Celebrate with Friends Special
For every table of four, ordering starter and main courses, receive a complimentary
bottle of house red or white wine (Tuesday – Sunday)Old Age Pensioners Special
OAP’s receive 15% off any dish on the lunch menu on Wednesdays OR receive a complimentary
Truth coffee* or pot of Ceylon Tea with any Cake of the Day, Scones or Muffins ordered
(available week days only and not between 12h30 and 14h00)
*Truth Americano coffee with hot milkCasa Labia Cafe Winter Vouchers Promotion
Each week over the months of July and August we will be giving all guests a voucher
entitling them to a discount or surprise ‘gift’ in the Cafe, valid till 31st August 2011.
And so, as we face exciting change we are also delighted to be able to say that, a year after opening, Casa Labia is growing from strength to strength. A wonderful support system of loyal visitors to the Cafe and our Cultural Centre is increasing, and despite quiet times in Cape Town in the winter months we are happily still busy in the Cafe, with the Event’s side also growing steadily. We are planning and preparing for a very exciting summer season and look forward to bringing you more exciting news of upcoming happenings then!
Until then, all the best…
Antonia
