The top events this month
worth travelling for this month
Have beer, will party
It may be just three years old, and in a remote corner of the countryside, but the Saggy Stone Beer & Music Festival has an impressive line-up, including Jack Parow, Karen Zoid, Freshlyground and The Kiffness (plus nine others). That amounts to more than 12 hours of cool music on Amandalia Farm near Robertson – home to Saggy Stone Brewing Company (which also makes craft spirits). It’s a family-friendly fest, with camping and new glamping options this year. Entry R455 pp. 9 February. saggystone.co.za The now-famous Clarens Craft Beer Festival in the Free State serves 26 limited-release beers made just for this event, and a band line-up that includes Prime Circle, Rooibaardt and The King
Pies. R230 pp weekend pass. 22–23 February. clarenscraftbeerfest.com
Have pizza, will party! Pair your gourmet slices with craft beer (and wine and dessert) at the Cape Town Pizza & Pasta Festival. Then watch the eating contest (new this year) and live music at Fort Wynyard. 23 February. webtickets.co.za
Hook, line and sinker
The first-ever Outdoor Fishing Festival is offering some great bait: a tagged fish worth R100 000, plus fishing trips on the Orange, Tugela and Zambezi rivers to be won. If you fancy your angling skills (such as casting around a tree), there will be prizes for that too. The venue is Cradle Moon Lodge in Muldersdrift, where the lake is filled with bass, yellowfish, carp, tilapia, barbel and a few other species to give fly fishers a great day out (strictly tag-and-release). There will also be stalls for all types of fishing and outdoor gear, including scuba, plus SA’s champion fishermen giving demos, ‘unplugged’ musicians (so as not to disturb the fish), a kids’ zone and food, beer and gin trucks to refuel. R150 pp, competitors R750 (a portion of proceeds goes to wildlife conservation). 2–3 February. webtickets.co.za
A festival for everyone
Mossel Bay is the oldest ‘working port’ in South Africa (ever since Portuguese sailors, including Bartolomeu Dias, started stopping by en route to the East). The town’s Dias & Port Festival celebrates this history, but also the lekker place it is today (see our story on page 104). Transnet opens the harbour to the public, and the festival lays on the fun: stalls, beer tents and tea gardens, fishing competitions and an ‘Amazing Race’ around the docks, a laser-light show and the ‘Arrival of Dias’, plus a street parade and cultural evening (including special guests from Portugal, India, Indonesia and Madagascar). And because everyone likes a party, there are two stages hosting an array of (mostly Afrikaans) singers and bands, for free. 31 January – 3 February. mosselbayevents.co.za
Do-good action
Have you ever been ‘plogging’? That’s jogging while picking up litter. Plogg for your City is a fundraiser to pilot a recycling project that provides income for needy people. Sign up for the 5km or 10km route around Cape Town CBD. R160 pp. 17 February. webticket.co.za Over in Mpumalanga at Castle Rock resort, the Sabie River Tube Race has been raising funds for good causes, including the Endangered Wildlife Trust, for more than 40 years. Last year, some 2 500 visitors took part. People are transported upriver in trucks on the Saturday, and can go down the river all day as often as they want to. On land, there’s live music and DJs. Tubes are for sale if you don’t have your own (lilos are too flimsy, according to the organiser). Entry R180 pp, with camping R380 pp. 15–17 February. quicket.co.za