Timber Festival to go ahead as #KnysnaRises
The Knysna Timber Festival 2017 will go ahead as planned from 29 September to
1 October.
It will take place as usual at its traditional venue at Timber Village, despite the fact that Timber Village was burned to the ground during the town’s recent devastating fires.
The organisers of the event see this year’s festival as an important milestone during which members of the industry can meet and help one another in restarting and re-growing the Garden Route’s hard-hit timber economy.
“Everyone was affected by the fires, and everyone’s rebuilding with a strong spirit of community,” said the initiative’s chairperson, Morné Smith. “The timber industry provides jobs and incomes for thousands of people in the region. The festival is an opportunity to showcase the deep level of skills and the high quality of the products for which Knysna has become famous.”
Festival Highlights
The exhibitors at this year’s festival have been drawn from a broad spectrum of the timber economy which include furniture manufacturers, timber growers, wood millers, timber buyers and members of the timber construction industry.
Indoor and outdoor exhibitions and demonstration areas will provide spaces for conversations, talks, presentations, and films about wood and working with wood. And with an entertainment area with live music, a beer tent, and children’s play space, this year’s Knysna Timber Festival will cater for the whole family.
About those owls
One of the most important aspects of the festival is that it’s a platform for training and the transfer of skills.
This year Woodoc Food for Wood will be sponsoring the training programme.
Woodoc will also present their Woodoc Owl Box Project, which is particularly appropriate this year as people around the Garden Route do whatever they can for the birds, bees and wild animals that were also severely affected by the fires.
Visit www.timberfestival.co.za for detailed information.