3rd annual Ncera Macadamia Harvest Festival set to thrill revellers
The Ncera Macadamia Harvest Festival is being hosted from 13-14 March 2020.
The third annual such event, the festival is set to treat visitors and families to a plethora of activities ranging from helicopter rides and familiarisation tour through the plantation, cultural dance troupes, fashion, music extravaganza featuring both local and national artists, and a craft market.
There will be a wellness component in the form of a 5km fun run and athletes stand to win a number of prices.
The festival will be preceded by a graduation ceremony on 13 February of learners who have enrolled with the Macadamia Skills Academy an extension of the nuts farm project and on the same day various agencies, Seta and government departments will bring services on wheels.
On the music front multi-talented Anga “NaakMusiQ” Mkhubalo and Christos “Dj Christos” Katsaitis, a seasoned house music campaigner, will headline the festival which will see a wide array of popular local acts such as Randy FT, Simplicity, Band SA and Natz EFX take to the stage.
“The festival is an enterprising way of promoting macadamia in the area and a springboard for development.
"What makes the festival unique is that it is linked to the harvest season and attracts people who are not even aware of macadamia” explained Princess NomaXhosa Jongilanga of ImiDushane Traditional Council and chairperson of the Vulindlela Investment Trust.
“The festival will assist in the ongoing drive to make agriculture fashionable to our youth, celebrate annual harvest and black excellence in agriculture as this is the first ever community based macadamia site in the country” added MEC Meth.
Now in its third year, the two days Ncera Macadamia Harvest Festival, is a cultural melting pot and hosted under the banner of the ImiDushane Traditional Council, Ncera’s Village 1, about 40km from East London, near Kidd’s Beach on the R72 road to Port Alfred.
“The festival is positioned as an agritourism property and promises to be a memorable experience.
"We are growing the festival organically to become the mainstay agritourism product in the area” said Princess NomaXhosa Jongilanga.
The Macadamia Farm Project has survived from a very serious drought that has destroyed many crops and livestock in the Eastern Cape. Despite the drought, the project is raring to celebrate what is poised to be one of the biggest platforms for social cohesion and celebrating Mother Nature’s bounty on this growing and popular outing.
“The occasion is a highlight of the Ncera calendar, allowing families and friends to spend a leisurely day. There will be a plethora of activates. The festival will be preceded by a service delivery open day that will feature services on wheels and access to funding for the benefit of people in Ncera and surrounding villages.
"We have curated a festival that empowers locals and entertain visitors. Our programme for locals takes care of their well-being, funding prospects and participation in the event value chain” added Princess NomaXhosa.
Tickets for the music festival (14 March) start are R35 for general entry sold at the gate. Exhibitors are welcomed to participate on the community day (13 March) which is a free-entry event, stalls are R120 per day and can be booked at luxolo@picklink.co.za
Source: www.rnews.co.za