I know this newsletter is very late.

I actually started writing this on December 29th, with every intention of having it ready for the 1st of January… and then life did what it does and laughed at my plans.

So let me start with this:

May 2026 be your best year yet, but not your best year ever.

For us, the year has actually started pretty well. We got a surprising amount of work done over the holidays, caught up on a bunch of things that had been hanging over us, and generally just started feeling a lot lighter. Less chaos. More breathing room.

Then we got our invites for our citizenship swearing-in ceremony on the 27th. Big moment. Proper goosebumps stuff.

Only thing — it was for a virtual ceremony.

Now listen, Zoom is great and all, but this didn’t really feel like a Zoom moment. Canada is adopting us, and we’re adopting Canada. That feels more like a stand-there, wave a little flag, soak it all in kind of moment… not sitting in front of a laptop.

So we asked if we could rather do it in person. Haven’t heard back yet, but either way, it already feels like the year is off to a good start.

2026 is on. Let’s make it a good one.

In This Week’s Newsletter

• Upcoming Events

• Saffa Thought of the Day

• Chilli Bites & Droëwors Competition 🌶️

• South African Institute of Canada Update

Upcoming Events

Alright, full honesty — the calendar is currently empty. Not because nothing’s happening, but because we haven’t finished pulling everything together yet. That’ll be sorted next week, promise.

But instead of leaving this section blank, I actually wanted to ask you okes for your thoughts on something.

Many of you will know Vorster from Netvleish. For years, he’s been putting on the Boere Fees up in Dawson Creek — and massive respect for that. The problem is, it’s far. Like… properly far. And a lot of people just battle to get there. Because of that, he’s decided to stop running it there and would rather help support more local South African events instead.

Which got me thinking…

We all know there are big South African festivals in other parts of the country, but out here in Vancouver / the Lower Mainland, we don’t really have a proper big one. And honestly, I reckon there’s scope for it.

So here’s a very early, very rough idea (emphasis on idea):

What if we put together a South African cultural festival towards the end of summer?

Maybe a one- or two-day jol. Somewhere like Ambleside Beach, or another big park.

The rough vision:

• South African vendors from all over

• All the SA shops represented

• Boerewors rolls, good food, potjie on the go

• Proper vibes

• South African businesses showing up

• Music — live if we can pull it off, Afrikaans playlists if not

• Somewhere around 50 to 100 vendors

• Just a proper jol for a day… or even a full weekend

Now here’s where I need your help:

• Do we make it open to everyone, like a cultural festival where Canadians can come taste and see what SA is all about?

• Or do we keep it more of a South African-only thing?

• What kind of entertainment would actually work?

• Do you know anyone locally who could help with music, performances, or organising?

• And the big one — would you actually support something like this?

Nothing is planned. Nothing is locked in. This is literally just the start of a conversation, and I’m wide open to ideas.

If you’ve got thoughts, contacts, experience, or even just opinions — shout. Reply to this email and let me know. Let’s see if we can make something lekker happen.

Saffa Thought of the Day

There’s a pretty good chance that 2026 is going to be a year of big change. Proper change. The kind that feels a bit shit-scary, but also strangely exciting at the same time.

Elon Musk recently said he believes 2026 could be the year of the singularity — a concept first talked about by Ray Kurzweil — basically the point where AI intelligence overtakes human intelligence. And from there… nobody really knows what the world looks like next.

That all sounds very heavy, but here’s the reality: even without fancy labels, it’s obvious that the work landscape is changing fast. Jobs will change. Industries will shift. A lot of people are going to feel unsettled, stretched, and lose their jobs.

One of the big AI guys was asked recently what advice he gives his kids in the middle of all this. His answer really stuck with me:

Live every day as if it might be your last.

Not in a panic way.
In a don’t-put-life-on-hold way.

And here’s the really important bit.

As clever as technology gets, people are still going to be your biggest asset.
Your relationships.
Your network.
Your community.

Now more than ever, it’s time to be there for one another — especially us Saffas out here in Canada. Most of us left the bulk of our networks back in South Africa, and this is exactly the time when community, connection, and looking out for each other matter most.

So take the time to reach out.
Phone your parents.
Spend time with your kids.
Have the coffee.
Hang out with your friends.
Check in on your mates.

When things change quickly, it’s the people around you that help steady the ship…

Chilli Bites & Droëwors Competition 🌶️

As many of you will remember, we launched the Best Droëwors & Chilli Bites Competition last year. The plan was to wrap it up in December… and then, well, December happened. Between suppliers being closed and not quite enough entries at the time, we decided to hit pause and do it properly.

Good news — it’s officially back on.

This is the Best Chilli Bites & Droëwors Competition in Canada.

Now, full disclosure: I love droëwors. Always have. And while the droëwors available here in Canada is good, it’s often just not that flavour — the one I used to buy at my spot back in South Africa. You know the one.

I’ve tried droëwors from a bunch of places, and honestly, Safari Outpost in Calgary is currently the closest to what I love. That’s my personal favourite. The problem? You can’t just ship droëwors from Calgary to Vancouver because of Canadian rules and regulations.

And that’s actually exactly why this competition exists.

This isn’t just about crowning a winner (although that part will be fun). It’s about all of us figuring out who makes the droëwors and chilli bites closest to what we love. Chances are, we’re all chasing slightly different flavours — and this is a way to discover them properly.

How it works:

• The tasting pack costs $55, shipping included

• We’ll buy droëwors and chilli bites from suppliers across BC

• Everything gets repacked into numbered, anonymous samples

• You receive a tasting pack plus a simple scoring form

• You taste, rate, and pick your favourites

• We tally the results and announce the winners — and who made what

That’s it. No gimmicks. Just good food, good opinions, and a bit of friendly competition.

Please spread the word, get involved, and make this one lekker.

👉 Order your tasting pack here:

https://thesouthafricanshop.ca/products/the-best-droewors-chilli-bites-in-bc-tasting-pack-official-howzit-canada-bc-competition-kit

South African Institute of Canada Update

A massive thank you to everyone who’s joined the volunteer group — we’re officially getting this going from next week.

We’ll be updating both the Howzit Canada and SAIC websites and, importantly, starting to properly build out the events listings. We’ve got a volunteer who’ll be reaching out to find as many South African events as possible — big or small.

So here’s the ask:

If you know of anything being organised —
a braai in the park,
a pub night,
a dinner, lunch, meetup, or get-together —
basically anything where South Africans are involved or welcome — please let us know.

Pop an email to [email protected] and we’ll get it added.

This is all about rebuilding our networks. Most of us left a lot of that behind when we moved to Canada, and the only way we recreate it is by being intentional about it. Let’s invite other South Africans into our communities with open arms, spread the word about what’s happening, and make it easier for people to find their people again.

Little things add up.

And community doesn’t build itself — we build it.

That’s a Wrap

That’s it for this week.

Keep an eye on your inbox — this newsletter will be landing every Monday. Same place, same vibe, just a regular check-in with what’s happening in the South African community across Canada.

As always, hit reply and let me know what you think. What you liked, what you didn’t, or what you’d love to see more of. I read every reply.

Until next week — take care of yourselves, look out for one another, and don’t forget to make a bit of time for the people that matter.

Cheers,

Callie

P.S. Just a quick one — Angelique is now running TheSouthAfricanShop.ca and she’s busy saving up for a trip. So if you’re due for a top-up of SA goodies anyway, supporting her would be massively appreciated.

And good news if you’re local — she’s now doing local deliveries around Vancouver, Burnaby, and the North Shore, so if you don’t feel like taking the drive, she’s your delivery gal.

Lekker way to support local and family. 💛