Franschhoek Oesfees in Franschhoek

The 5th annual 2012 Franschhoek Oesfees wine festival will take place on Saturday, March 24th and promises to be a day of wonderful, traditional live Cape music, delicious Kaapsekos, and plenty of Vastrap to celebrate the end of the harvest with Franschhoek’s vineyard workers in foot stomping revelry at one of the most picturesque settings in the winelands - the Solms-Delta Wine Estate.

In association with the ATKV, top local artists are all set to sparkle again with local Cape gems in a day of celebration and family-fun. The inimitable Soli Philander is MC for the day and will introduce South African favourites Radio Kalahari Orkes, Valiant Swart & Ollie Viljoen, Stef Bos and Tribal Echo with the ever-popular Hannes Coetzee (of Karoo Kitaar Blues ‘spoon-slide’ fame) and new Cape dynamo Les Javan.

Music enthusiasts will feast on the unique Cape sounds of vastrap, langarm, Cape jazz, ghoema, klopse, and boeremusiek led by the Blinde Boereorkes and supported by local favourites the Papier Familie - for generations a musical tour de force in the Valley. And of course the Valley Entertainers and Lekker Lekker Delta will also be there. Add dancing shoes and some spice with Seppie Andries, Ouma Martha Adams and the energetic Witzenberg Rieldansers, and the stage, and dance floor, is set for another Oesfees we’ll never forget.

An event like few others on the South African cultural calendar, the Oesfees brings together farmworkers and farm owners from the valley to kuier and vastrap, celebrating their hard work and the Cape’s rich cultural heritage with traditional Boland rural music and kaapsekos.

The food is as much a highlight as the music, with locals offering authentic Kaapsekos like snoek & patats, afval potjie, bobotie and waterblommetjie bredie, askoek and konfyt. Solms-Delta wines, aptly named Langarm, Vastrap, Cape Jazz Shiraz, Lekkerwijn and Hiervandaan pair perfectly with the festival fare.

The Franschhoek Oesfees gives thanks for and celebrates not only the end of the harvest, but also the real music and culture of the Boland, with its deep heart, soul and history. As a showcase for the Music van de Caab project which seeks to preserve and develop the diverse musical heritage of the rural Cape, this annual event has quickly established itself as the authentic highlight of the Winelands calendar. “Whilst our music is rooted in tradition, it is also alive with the hopes, dreams and enthusiasm of today’s generation” says Solms-Delta artist-in-residence, Les Javan.

Tickets cost R110 and are at Solms-Delta wine estate (located on the R45 to Franschhoek), and at the Franschhoek tourism offices. Tickets are also available from Musica outlets for R120, or at the gate for R130. Tickets exclude food and beverage coupons, which are available for purchase at the event. Children under 12 enter free if accompanied by their parents.

Times: The entertainment starts at 11h00 and ends at 21h00.
Contact: The Solms Delta Wine Estate on +27 (0)21 874-3937.

Please Note: Dates for this event to be confirmed.