Leisurely find your feet to this fest
Knysna’s spring festival season gets off to a bumper start with the 17th Leisure Isle Festival on the weekend of 9 and 10 November.
Knysna is the Garden Route’s festival capital and there are some very special reasons why people should go to this one, according to Niall Johnston, chair of the organising committee, who said, “We want to see many people and their families enjoying themselves, availing themselves of the many skills that our diverse community offers and in doing so, helping those who are less fortunate and need our help.”
Last year’s festival raised a record of more than R300 000 for eight local charities, and this year, nine local charities representing children, the elderly, unemployed, animals and the environment, including Vermont Old Age Home, e’Pap Children Feeding Scheme, Ithemba, Knysna Animal Welfare, Loeriehof, Die Werkswinkel, Hospice and Steenbok Nature Reserve – will benefit from festivalgoers’ generous spending.
The anticipated more than 120 stalls include many high-quality craft stalls and a terrific range of food and drink outlets that guarantee festivalgoers a great day’s entertainment. Children will have lots to do, with Knysna Basin Project’s ever-popular treasure hunt and the Kids Activity Area run by Queen Bee School. The festival also provides the stall holders who come from the many diverse parts of the Knysna community with the opportunity to develop their businesses and, in many cases, start their business from scratch.
As the Knysna Estuary is the most important environmentally in South Africa, the festival has a strong environmental message. Single-use plastics have been banned and the Steenbok Nature Reserve, SA National Parks and Knysna Basin Project are all represented, the latter with its display of live creatures that always attracts many young budding ecologists.
Johnston reiterated his thanks to lead sponsor Sotheby’s International Realty Knysna and the many other generous sponsors, and said that without their support and the help of the many volunteers the festival could not take place. –