Oyster festival plans
The Knysna Oyster Festival 2018 was launched to the media over a two-day period on 11 and 12 April in the build-up to what is expected to be one of the best Oyster Festivals to date.
Knysna Tourism invited a host of local and national media to the launch, including Travelbug Rose Blogger, Go Social SA, Instagram SA, The Travel Manuel and Women’s Health SA.
Knysna Tourism chair Elmay Bouwer welcomed all media and invited guests to the official launch hosted at Whet restaurant, where she said that the aim of the media visit was to show the world how much there is to do in
Knysna.
‘A time to explore Knysna’
“The Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival is a wonderful time to be in Knysna, with plenty of events planned for the whole family, but it’s also an opportunity to explore the area and we hope we’ve given you a little taste of it – from a township tour with Peggy and eating chocolate oysters at Ile de Pain, to the historical walk with Knysna Hike and Bike and a sunset cruise with The Featherbed Co, you’ve had a packed itinerary. I hope you learned something new and experienced something different. And I hope we’ve whet your appetite for more!”
Trending hashtags
Bouwer thanked the media and was impressed by the trending hashtags on Twitter: #VisitKnysna and #KOF2018.
“Well done! I’ve seen your posts today on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and they make me feel proud to be a Knysnarian, and have given me a renewed sense of excitement about living in this beautiful town, which is the very heart of the Garden Route,” she said.
“I’d like to thank all the local businesses who are sponsoring this launch and have made it possible, and also, of course, sponsors Pick n Pay and Momentum, for their ongoing and invaluable support. And well done to festival manager Glendyrr Fick for setting it all up.”
35th Oyster Fest this year
Bouwer said this year will be the 35th Oyster Festival, having started in 1983 to attract people to Knysna during the quiet winter period. “Today the festival has grown to be one of the most popular annual events in the Western Cape and is estimated to attract over 60 000 visitors to Knysna every year. The importance of the festival to the economy of the area cannot be overestimated,” she said.
“An event impact assessment done by the Knysna Municipality in 2016 shows that visitors to the region spent almost R110million over the 10-day period of the festival on accommodation, food and beverages, transport, leisure and retail activities.
This resulted in the creation of 2 392 employment opportunities. For some businesses, the figures for the two weekends of the festival are on a par with their turnover at Christmas,” said Bouwer.
Charity component
“Every official Oyster Festival event must have a charity component, and last year the amount raised for charity topped R3.6million,” she added.
Worldsport founder and CEO Bruce Parker-Forsyth drew an emotional response from guests with a heartwarming few words.
“The Oyster Festival is special because the people of Knysna are special.
It is remarkable that last year’s event went ahead despite the fires, but it also shows the heart and soul of the people of Knysna, and we are proud to be associated with this event,” he said.