PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - After the isolation that the Covid-19 pandemic brought along with it, this year's Plett Arts Festival is aptly centred on connection.
The ninth annual festival, which kicks off on Friday 30 September and runs until 9 October, is themed "Connect" - encouraging festinos to connect with nature, the elements, the artists, performers and one another.
Over its nine-year run, the festival has become known for bringing unique and proudly Plett concepts to the table. These include the popular Plett Food and Film Festival and the Plett Arts Twilight Meander which will once again form part of the programme this year.
Last year, following the trend of open-air events, the festival arranged a number of boutique "art in nature" concerts and these are expected to make a return. Another popular concept from last year is land art.
Organisers say they are thrilled to continue this theme with a Plett Arts Festival Connect land art Route for visitors to enjoy.
Twilight meander
The festival will kick off with the Plett Arts Twilight Meander, a celebratory opening to the festivities and the arts culture in Main Street.
From the Dolphin Circle to Whale Wire Sculpture, galleries, pop-ups, restaurant spaces and the street itself, the area is set to come alive for the meander. Visitors are encouraged to browse galleries and exhibitions, stop for a coffee or dinner at any of the Main Street eateries and look out for a digital exhibition.
"There's something special in every corner of Plett's CBD. Visitors are encouraged to check the full programme for a list of exhibitions and opening night plans. Workshops and demonstrations are also available on the programme," organisers say.
Kalahari enchantment
This year the Plett Food and Film Festival is called "A Night of Kalahari Enchantment" at the White House Theatre.
Twenty years before he won an Academy Award for My Octopus Teacher, Craig Foster and his brother David made a documentation of the spiritual synergy and symbiosis of natural beings, as lived out by the San in the Kalahari. It's called The Great Dance, a Hunter's Story.
Paired with this film and performers, Nguni Restaurant is set to conjure up a meal inspired by the Kalahari and flavoured with wild edibles. Dizu Plaatjies of Amampondo fame, an instrumentalist on Kora and traditional percussion and string instruments, will also enthrall festinos while Plettonian Vanessa Brewer will lead a guided tasting of urban-foraged edible roots, leaves and other unexpected delectables.
This year's performances in nature include Bronze Fields Forest Sessions, The Collectiv at Boskey Dell Farm & Rose Garden, Street Soccer and Music at Lehae TshisaNyama, and, from the rooftop of Afro-centric, King Melisizwe will be live-broadcasting his show, SmallTown TiVi.
Land art
Carrying the art-in-nature concept, land art returns to Plettenberg Bay. Following two successful site-specific land art installations in 2011 and 2013, and a reintroduction at the 2021 festival, this year's activation will feature a full Land Art Connect Route exhibition. Land art is created using materials from the natural environment and are on display only for as long as nature (the tide, the winds, the waves) allows.
The planned route includes Piesang River mouth, Central Beach, Hobie Beach, Wedge Beach and the peninsula, Lookout Beach and Lookout peninsula.
"The connection between art and nature is a strong one, and a concept that we have continued to explore as the Plett Arts Festival evolves year on year," says festival director Cindy Wilson-Trollip.
"We encourage all visitors to browse the programme and immerse themselves in the wonders of Plettenberg Bay and the best that the arts community of our town has put together." For more information, visit www.pletttourism.co.za.
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