KNYSNA NEWS - Rah rah! No, I'm not breaking out into song to the tune of the chorus of Boney M's hit Rasputin. Instead I'm basking in the glow of the aftermath of what was, at least in my opinion, one of the most memorable Knysna Oyster Festivals in recent years.

This year heralded in the 40th iteration of the annual Knysna Oyster Festival, that has over the years become synonymous with Knysna and lies at the core of its identity.

Much like the town itself, the festival has had its fair share of ups and downs, with many a peak and many a valley in years gone by.

Be it struggles with sponsors and therefore funding, or problems with normally reliable and trustworthy organisers, the festival has never been far from an issue of some sort.

It has also been at the core of the town's resurgence following disasters that have struck the town, with the devastating 2017 Knysna fires naturally the first that springs to mind. The festival was held that year, as well as in 2018 and 2019, and was the catalyst for the town's tourism rebirth. But this of course took a blow when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Yet, despite all that lay in wait to challenge it, the festival powered on – albeit virtually.

The Knysna Cycle Tour took riders up into and around the Knysna Forests.

Moving on from Covid-19

We celebrated the first proper, physical post-Covid-19 Knysna Oyster Festival in 2022, and it was welcomed with open arms. It brought out-of-town visitors back in their numbers and things were looking up.

A much-improved 2022/23 festive season also brought promise for the 2023 Knysna Oyster Festival.

But, with no more than two months to go, it was dealt a blow when Forever Friday, the company selected to coordinate Knysna Municipality's events for a period of three years, pulled out of the tender.

Once more, the success of the Oyster Festival hung in the balance. Determined to not let the scales tip over, a group of locals led by Rose Greyling-Bilbrough, Jeannine Orzechowski and the Visit Knysna team made up of Keagon Borchards and Thozeka Sikali picked up the pieces with a determination that few could match.

Some visitors and locals even took to the lagoon for water-based fun.

Getting into gear quickly

With very little time available, this group and their helpers strung together a lengthy and incredibly extensive Oyster Festival programme featuring an unprecedented variety.

I know they say it every year, but I firmly believe this year held something for everyone at some point during the 10 days on which it was held from 30 June to 9 July.

You had the cycling and running races of course, the soccer, the netball, the usual sports activities. But this year there was a golf tournament and a padel tournament too.

There was live music galore, with enough genres covered to satisfy everyone's musical taste.

There were spice and tea tastings, oyster tastings (naturally), the wine festival, beauty pageants, estuary clean-ups, sunset wine runs, art walk-abouts, SANParks guided tours; even an amazing race!

A happy success

The sheer variety of what was available was reflected by the number of people that poured into town last week. Some establishments enjoyed better business than during the festive season. The roads were packed, our local Joburg emigrants could be forgiven for thinking they were back in the City of Gold. Restaurants and accommodation establishments were busy too.

Sure, if you really want to, you can go about and pick out negatives that arose during those 10 days. But, I choose not to. I've lived in this beautiful town since early 2019, and I feel that this was the best Knysna Oyster Festival that I have experienced in my time here. I've heard a fair share of long-time locals calling it their best in recent memory too.

The Miss Pearl Beauty Pageant offered a dazzling start to this year's festival.

Locals and our visitors

Admittedly, I do understand now why locals always over-use the "those darned tourists" (of course in more colourful language) term every year. Some visitors weren't great, but by and large, I can't help but feel everyone had a great time.

So, well done to the locals for sticking it out and putting up with loud music and parties for a week and a half, and thank you to the visitors who spent their holiday time and hard-earned money on our special little town.

This may not quite have been "the Oyster Festival of old" as many like to say, but I do feel it is the closest we've been in quite a while. Cheers for now, and just remember: the world is your oyster!

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