Fathers celebrated at Mall of the North

Fathers were the centre of attention at Mall of the North this weekend with a fun selection of exhibitions and activities geared toward keeping dads happy.
Edgars Court was converted into a Man Cave where shoppers could find the ideal Father’s Day gift, no matter what their preferences were. The options included, among others, spices and condiments as well as kitchen accessories from Spice World, a selection of clothing and music, fine fragrances, outdoor gear from Trappers and nifty appliances from Game.
At the same time Game Court was transformed into a gamer’s paradise with local e-sport club, Fragcon Gaming, hosting a demonstration of the activities that members can enjoy.
Petrus Maartens, Chairperson of Fragcon, explained that the club is meant for people who do not necessary excel on the sports field, but who do have the ability to out think others. “However, everybody is very welcome to join and we embrace all new members,” he added.
Fragcon is a member of Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), an affiliate of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and recognised by the Department of Sport and Recreation. This governing body covers board games, e-sport and war games.
“Through MSSA, our members can attain provincial and national colours, which in turn offers them more opportunities to win bursaries for further studies,” Maartens explaned. Interested parties can send an email to fragcongaming@gmail.com.
The highlight of the Father’s Day weekend was a pizza eating competition especially for fathers on Saturday, staged in Game Court and sponsored by Panarottis Mall of the North. Contestants had to wolf down three slices of pizza in each qualifying round and the winners won some enviable prizes including Panarottis vouchers, Trappers vouchers, vouchers from House of Asante Spa and appliances.
There was no lack of support and families loudly encouraged their patriarchs to “eat faster, chew harder and swallow, swallow, swallow!”
In the final round the winners of the five qualifying rounds sat down to see who could eat one large loaded pizza slice the fastest and Ben Enslin emerged victorious.
The Panarottis mascot also challenged two fathers to an arm wresting competition, but lost every time, winning the contenders great prizes.

Story and photos: MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com