One of the country’s biggest arts festivals, the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK), has kicked off in Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo after a two-year absence. There is much excitement for the 26th edition of the event, as the art community comes out in their numbers to perform for the public.
@KKNKfees, 29 March – 3 April, Oudtshoorn#KKNK2022 #KKNKhttps://t.co/uW3KYEPwdG
— KKNK (@KKNKfees) March 25, 2022
Music, art, theatre, food and good times will once again mark the week-long event. The popular event was stopped in its tracks in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, it’s full steam ahead now that regulations have been relaxed. Festival-goers have streamed in from all over the country.
“Since 2008 we’ve been coming to the festival as a girls-only group. It’s a lot of fun being here. It was really bad the past two years, we couldn’t be here because of COVID. It was a big gap in our lives that we had to stay at home in April. We watch a lot of shows, music, theatre. It’s the socializing with other people we enjoy…kuier saam. The fact that we don’t have to wear masks in the outdoors is brilliant. We can’t wait for the masks to disappear. We love being at festivals, we love bringing the kids out, they play around, listen to the local music and we just enjoy ourselves,” says an excited attendee.
Oudtshoorn locals, such as Stephanie Wessels, were also happy to see some excitement back in town.
“It was very quiet in Oudtshoorn. We as people from Oudtshoorn, we need this. It’s a big event for us, financial wise in Oudtshoorn. I personally love this KKNK, I was here, but for the last two years we were in our houses.”
Vendors are also grateful to trade again. The owner of the Cairo Shawarma food truck, Mohamed Mustafa, says he is happy to keep his father’s legacy alive, who was one of the very first stall owners when the festival started in 1994.
“I’m smiling. Of course, I’m very grateful that everything is back to normal, we can survive, it was horrible. A lot of businesses, a lot of the stall owners, who used to come here aren’t here anymore, probably because of COVID they struggled and had to close down. But we’re grateful we’re here and we’ll do all the events in the country, most of the big ones.”
The festival kicked off at a star-studded event last night, with organisers and artists mingling once again after the two-year hiatus.
