Gauteng fills four days as Heritage Day lands on a Thursday

Heritage Day lands on Thursday, 24 September, and that single public holiday turns the week into the shortest of the season and the weekend into a possible four-day break for anyone who takes the Friday off.

Gauteng has filled those four days. There are festivals, markets, live music, chess tournaments, museums, history, art and enough to keep children occupied while the grown-ups recover from the braai. The Citizen has set out what is on, and the list runs from the West Rand to Nasrec.

GoWest! returns to Mogale City

GoWest! is back after a long absence, with its main festival taking over Coronation Park in Mogale City on Saturday, 26 September. The line-up includes Kwesta, Mdu, Big Zulu, Nhlanhla Mafu, Musa, Lwa Ndlunkulu, Trompies, Rethabile Khumalo, The Voshorist and Thobani White.

Vintage hunting in Irene

Pretoria’s Vintage and Decor Show brings more than 120 stallholders to Irene Village Mall on Heritage Day, with vintage jewellery, clothing, collectables and decor on offer. Artisanal food stalls and food trucks cover the hunger that arrives when treasure hunting runs long. There is outdoor space for children, the venue is wheelchair-friendly, and pets are welcome on a leash. Entry is free. It runs from 9am to 7pm.

Fourways Mall stretches the day into a weekend

Fourways Mall is running Heritage Day across three days on its Level 7 rooftop. Friday brings a night market with food, shopping, entertainment and activities for children. Saturday’s Fourways Improvement District Community Day puts local talent and businesses in the spotlight. Sunday closes with a Game Day Market and rugby screening alongside food, drinks and children’s entertainment. Friday runs from 4pm to 10pm at R20, with under-12s free. Saturday is free from 10am to 4pm. Sunday entry starts at R50.

Chess takes the long weekend

Chess, which is making a major comeback, has several tournaments across the four days. Johannesburg Metro Chess hosts the CPH Heritage Day Open at the Mint Hotel in Randburg on 24 September. Prestige and A divisions start at 8am, with divisions B to E at 8.30am, over five rounds at 50 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. Tshwane Chess has its 2026 Clash Open Team Tournament on Heritage Day. On Saturday the action moves to Midrand for the Midrand Rapid Open from 10am, seven rounds at 15 minutes plus five seconds per move, entry R300. Sedibeng Chess runs its Chess in the Vaal Blitz and Doubles Tournament from 8am, with nine rounds of ChessSA-rated blitz and cash prizes.

A full day at Gold Reef City

Gold Reef City Theme Park offers more than rollercoasters, though the Tower of Terror, Anaconda and Golden Loop are there for the thrill seekers. There are nine family rides and 20 rides for children, and visitors can also go 75 metres underground on a mine tour, watch a gold pour demonstration and explore museums housed in historic buildings. A 4D cinema and mini golf round out an easy full day for families.

Meet Mrs Ples in Pretoria

Ditsong National Museum of Natural History dates back to 1892 and offers a different way to spend the public holiday. Its collections include hominid fossils from the Cradle of Humankind, among them the famous Mrs Ples skull, alongside mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, skeletons and preserved specimens. It is open daily from 7.30am to 4pm at 432 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria.

Sing and paint at Constitution Hill

Soweto Pride’s Sing & Paint programme comes to Constitution Hill on Heritage Day, combining art, music and storytelling with the history of Pride activism. The intergenerational event includes handmade Pride signage, songs and a pop-up Soweto Pride Archive exhibition, running from 10am to 4pm. Constitution Hill is also offering free admission on Heritage Day, with the first 100 self-guided tour tickets free.

Quieter options, and a pairing of two South African pleasures

Irene Farm’s Heritage Day Watercolour Workshop offers a step-by-step session creating a Strelitzia painting, open to anyone aged 16 and older, with online booking required. It starts at 9.30am. Eighteen13 at Cedar Square is pairing local wines with different types of biltong at 11am and 1pm, with an explanation of why particular wines work with particular flavours and textures. The standard pairing costs R150 per person.

Museums become festival spaces

The Kulture Factory Heritage Festival takes over the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria on Saturday from noon, turning the museum into a live cultural space with music, art exhibitions, storytelling, local fashion and food. The Gauteng Institute for Architecture’s Heritage Family Tour runs on Saturday morning, combining architecture and history in a family-focused exploration of the Apartheid Museum from 9am. Visitors who want a broader heritage day can head into Soweto for the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Vilakazi Street.

Comic Con Africa runs all four days

Heritage weekend coincides with Comic Con Africa, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. Four days of comics, gaming, anime, cosplay, celebrity appearances, esports, artists and merchandise, with programming changing across the weekend. Tickets start from R250 a day.

Source: The Citizen, Heritage Day 2026: Things to do in Gauteng over the long weekend