File photo: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town – This year, the blankets knitted in honour of the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day initiative will be delivered earlier to ensure that those in need are kept warm from the first chilly morning of winter.

67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day celebrates its sixth year of knitting the country together by creating Magical Moments 4 Mandela. On March 31, all blankets made this year will be exhibited and laid out from 9am to 1pm simultaneously at various places around the country.

The event will celebrate all the hard work, effort and kindness that “KnitWits for Madiba” around South Africa have put into this worthy cause.

Gatherings will take place in Cape Town at the Chess Road Field in Rondebosch, at the Pringle Bay Town Centre, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Durban.

In Johannesburg, the blankets will be laid out at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, at both the Nelson Mandela statue and the newly unveiled 1m-tall replica of it, which is located close to the original.

The replica is modelled by the original artist and sculptor Kobus Hattingh and designed specifically to allow the visually impaired to experience the statue.

For this, 67 Blankets will work closely with the Johannesburg Society for Blind.

KnitWits and anyone else donating blankets should hand in their blankets by March 22.

Supporters are encouraged to bring crocheting, knitting, family and friends.

At 10am sharp, all KnitWits and friends gathered at the various 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day sites will sing the national anthem.

Visit www.67blankets.co.za for more information.

Cape Times