Knysna Oyster Festival wraps up with great success
KNYSNA – Held 100% physically for the first time in three years, the 39th edition of the Knysna Oyster Festival came to an end on Sunday 10 July after 10 days of festivities, events, and celebrations.
The festival has been viewed by organisers as a success. "The festival definitely brought extra feet to Knysna this winter holiday," said festival manager Andrew Finn. "And it gave all of us an opportunity to get out and have some fun too. Many of the events were very well supported." A big focus of this year's Oyster Festival was to have local businesses benefit from the foot traffic during the festival, and the drive to achieve this seems to have paid off, according to Finn.
"A number of accommodation establishments have reported a bump in bookings, especially over the second weekend, and some of the restaurants estimate that they were busier this year than during the last festival before the lockdown," he said. While there have been past claims that the Oyster Festival has become too sport-oriented, this year's festival boasted a very diverse programme.
It saw the return of the Miss Pearl Beauty Pageant for the first time in 13 years, there were showcases of locally manufactured boats, book readings by local authors, a mini tattoo festival, numerous art events, a thrift fair, an underwater clean-up, seemingly endless live music, informative dinners and courses on spice and tea... the list goes on.
These are over and above the usual events such as the Knysna Forest Marathon and the Knysna Cycle Tour, which have become marquee events of the festival over the years.
The Knysna Wine Festival also returned this year and experienced great success with two sold-out nights.
It was also a festival of many firsts, including the inaugural Oyster Hunt. Nearly 300 players took to their mobile devices - and the greater Knysna area - to find specific locations and take part in daily challenges as part of an online location-based game.
Daily winners received prizes ranging from free coffees to branded apparel, event and activity tickets and a variety of vouchers.
With the most points at the close of the hunt, Hanna Stieger won the grand prize of a three-night stay at Brenton Haven Beachfront and much more. "Thank you to all the Oyster Hunt prize sponsors," said Finn. "The social engagement this game created online reached incredible heights, which is sure to drive even more excitement - and more visitors - to next year's festival."
Finn also thanked the municipality for its support, as well as everyone involved. "A festival like this cannot happen without the participation and support of the people of Knysna," he said.
"Thank you for standing by us, for getting involved and organising events, and for taking part in the fun. The Knysna Oyster Festival will be back in 2023 - bigger and better."
Knysna Mayor Levael Davis said the festival is sure to grow on the success it achieved this year. "The Knysna Oyster Festival has always been a firm favourite on the South African events calendar," he said. "With minimal financial support or sponsorship, this year's festival management team and event organisers have managed to re-secure our spot on that calendar. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next year."