South African Events Directory

Nieu Bethesda Festival 21 -24th September 2012

The 2012 Nieu Bethesda festival promises to be an experience you will never forget!

The Nieu Bethesda Festival will be taking place in Nieu Bethesda on Heritage Day weekend, starting on the evening of Friday the 21st of September and ending on the morning of the 24th of September.
The festival will include performances and exhibitions by the talented local community and a diverse range of leading artists from throughout South Africa. 

There is a fantastic range of musical talent to entertain and inspire. Tina Schouw, the well know jazz musician, will be performing original songs on solo guitar from her latest CD ’Winds Call’. Her music is an eclectic blend of folk, pop latin and jazz and her lyrics speak of journeys of love. Multi-instrumentalist, Jamie Jupiter, will have us all on our feet, dancing to folk and rock. Another exciting musician is Kathy Raven who is praised in the review by Marjorie Gueron from Black Owl Music in Miami/New York: “In the years since she captured the public's musical imagination, the multi-talented musician has established a formidable reputation as a deeply expressive singer, a prodigiously talented guitarist and distinctive songwriter.” Award winning singer-songwriters Riku Latti and Les Javan will delight audiences and Jako Loots and Albert Meintjies will add more wonderful sounds to the repertoire.

On the theatrical front, legendary Elsabe Zietsman will be performing Dis Koue Kos Skat written by Marita van der Vyver on Saturday. On Sunday audiences will be treated to Kos en Konsert, where Elsabe sings and cooks and the guests get to eat the three course meal she produces! Owl, directed by Jon Keevy and performed by Briony Horwitz, is a one woman theatrical coming of age journey; an honest portrait of growing up ‘different’ in the middle of nowhere; a story about climbing trees, punching boys and kissing girls. A story about growing up where nothing grows. 

The children’s theatre program includes Jungle Theatre’s Vallende Maan directed by Jaqueline Domissa. This is a multilingual, adventurous and interactive romp through the Karoo, dealing with some topical issues along the way.
“Onse Nieu Bethesda” is a play created by children at Letti de Klerk, the local school, together with director Paula Kingwill. It promises to move and delight audiences.

Local directing talent, Dusty Kenyon, directs local Nieu Bethesda residents through a hysterical farce, A flea in her ear by Georges Feydeau, that will have the audience falling off their seats. 
The Bethesda Art Centre, First  People’s centre will be presenting the performance of  A /Xam Story.  The performance follows the official opening of the Gallery of Myth Quilts with special guest Professor, Pippa Skotnes.

Local painters and sculptors will be exhibiting throughout the festival.  Nieu Bethesda is internationally known for the high calibre of artists that are drawn to the village by the legacy of Helen Martins and the Owl House.  Charmaine Haynes, Frans Boekkooi, Dirkje Louw, Thea van Staden among many others will be exhibiting. Art lovers will not be disappointed this year.

Festinos will be given the unique opportunity to join origami artist, Kyoko Kimura who will teach us the ancient Japanese art of folding paper. On Sunday there is a full day workshop by Filou the Clown (Reinhard Horstkotte is a highly acclaimed professional clown from Berlin) at the Bethesda Art Centre.

Coinciding with Global Frackdown Day on the 22nd of September we will be running a mini documentary film festival with films that educate about fracking and related issues. Internationally acclaimed Buried in Earthskin documentary will be presented by local director, Helena Doe Kingwill as part of this festival. Audiences can expect to see some anti-fracking shenanigans throughout the festival in the form of sculptures, street theatre and farmer-style interventions. 

To add to the festival spirit there is a ‘free stage’ in the centre of town where everyone can enjoy performances by all the artists, while jugglers and stilt walkers will create magic in the dusty streets. If this is not enough, street theatre artists from Rhodes University will also be performing in the streets during the festival, creating a festive atmosphere and keeping everyone entertained. Local delicacies and crafts will be on sale at the village market.

The festival is entirely community driven as there is no corporate sponsorship and all artists are traveling from far and wide for the joy of performance. This family-friendly weekend excursion will be an experience you will never forget!

Check the Nieubethesdafest facebook page for more information.  Follow the links to find accommodation – while there is plenty of guest houses in town you should book early before everyone else does!

Nieu Bethesda Festival Accommodation