PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plettenberg Bay artists and art enthusiasts dug deep recently to support the industry, which has been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, through an online version of the annual Plett Arts Festival.
"The Plett Arts Festival went ahead against all odds this year: the national state of disaster, funding needs, the lack of live audience participation and the greatly missed loyal festival supporters who come to Plett during the winter months," said organiser Cindy Wilson-Trollip.
Despite the odds, Wilson-Trollip said, the ticket sales were "good", especially if one considered that for every ticket sold, an entire family was likely watching.
She added that there were also other spin-offs from the event, including the acquisition of new technical skills for those involved in the festival. "Among all the efforts to 'flatten the curve', the learning curve for artists, producers and technicians took on a fast and furious upward trajectory. In true Plett community spirit, safe venues for performances were offered, and technical information was freely shared to get the shows on air. Artists dug deep to perform to empty halls."
The Western Cape government marketing and investment agency, Wesgro, also stepped up and made funding available for the virtual events in order to stimulate the events sector during Covid, and Plett Tourism received an allocation of R15 000 which enabled them to host the festival.
"This amount contributed to technical crews and streaming costs," said Wilson-Trollip.
The organiser noted that for those who missed out or want an encore, the good news is that all the performances were recorded and are available for viewing. "The performances that were recorded are now available free of charge, to view on demand, on the Plett Tourism website and we will be releasing the shows as a Facebook series. On viewing the shows, you have an opportunity to make a voluntary donation towards the sustainability of the Plett Arts Festival, and a portion of your donation will be paid to the artists."
The performances include music from several genres and theatre performances. Plett fine artists also participated and their art was showcased on online galleries.
To view the performances, click here.
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