Joburg weekend guide: talks, markets, music and rooftop views

Friday is calling, and Joburg has plenty to say. Between 16 and 18 October you can catch the end of a digital festival, applaud an opening night, taste wine among the art and race at sunrise. Here is the plan, one idea at a time.

1. Plug into Africa’s digital imagination

Fak’ugesi wraps up on Saturday, 17 October, with Making & Awards, the closing day of five days of talks, exhibitions and performances under the theme African Imaginaries. Public sessions run at venues around Wits Braamfontein, and the awards ceremony is by invitation only, so check the programme before you go.

2. Be there for opening night

Mamma Mia! opens at The Teatro at Montecasino on Friday, 16 October, with Amra-Faye Wright as Donna Sheridan. Tickets run from R280 to R580, and Saturday offers matinee and evening shows at 15:00 and 19:30. On Sunday the #JacarandaInYourPocket season begins with two weeks of runs, walks and rooftop sundowners.

3. Let the music set the mood

The Jazz Room honours Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong at Hard Rock Cafe in Sandton on Saturday at 18:00, according to Out Here. The Klink Art Wine Experience adds live music to its afternoon in Rosebank. Ne-Yo performs at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria on Sunday for anyone happy to drive north.

4. Browse, nibble and wander

Sunday belongs to the Rosebank Sunday Market, which spreads across the Rosebank Mall rooftop from 09:00 to 16:00. Entry is free, more than 140 traders set up shop and the food stalls make lunch easy. Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein is the Saturday morning option.

Picture: rosebanksundaymarket.co.za

5. Take the family to the garden

The Johannesburg Garden Club’s Open Garden welcomes visitors to a mature one-and-a-half-acre garden in Inanda on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00. The garden is wheelchair accessible, and a raffle supports Johannesburg Child Welfare. Children under 12 entered free in 2025, so confirm the 2026 policy.

6. Linger over a jazz lunch

Sunday lunch gets a soundtrack at Insights restaurant in Sanctuary Mandela, the Houghton boutique hotel where Nelson Mandela lived from 1994 to 1999. A new jazz act takes the stage each Sunday from 12:00 to 15:00, and the three-course menu changes with the season. Book a table ahead.

7. Stay out until the encore

Sankayi in Morningside keeps Friday strictly for jazz, and Saturdays are reserved for fusion sounds or DJ Bob’s Afrikan Record series, according to What’s On in Joburg. Advance tickets are essential and the venue serves dinner and drinks before the show.

Picture: Sankayi

8. Make a day of Rosebank

Klink Art Wine Experience fills 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub on Saturday from 11:00 to 18:00 with boutique wines, gallery tours and live music and tickets start at R250. Beauty fans can add the Clicks Beauty Playground, Joburg’s biggest beauty expo, on Saturday and Sunday.

9. Lace up for Sunday

Runners gather at DP World Wanderers Stadium for the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km at 07:30, with a 5km race at 08:00. Spectators can cheer in Sandton before heading to brunch. Check the race listing for updates.