It was a darn cold night, but the hall of Cradock Primary School was packed. Coenie de Villiers and André Schwartz were to perform at the opening of the Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival.
The bulk of the festival was held in Mark Street, a picturesque street with old nagmaalhuisies that have been bought up and restored. At the end of the street sits the Victoria Hotel, a stately venue with warm interiors to welcome travellers and conference-goers.
12 June 2024
The festival joined hands with the Cradock Primary School for a fundraiser, hence the venue for the first concert. Lisa Ker, who organises the festival, welcomed everyone. The tiny little ones from the Cradock Preparatory School choir and the somewhat bigger ones from the primary school choir performed for us.
Then it was Coenie de Villiers and André Schwartz, two world-class performers, who entertained the Cradock audience with a rendition of their Karoo Winterkersfees. It was the first time ever that this piece had been performed in the Greater Karoo, and also the first time it has been done in mid-winter. The duo has performed it at Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo before, but never in the proper Karoo. It was cold enough for all to enjoy the wintery feel of their show.
After De Villiers and Schwartz performed, the Cradock High School choir sang. Then all three choirs combined to end the evening with a rendition of the Coenie de Villiers hit “Ruik jy katbos en ruik jy kambroo”. De Villiers accompanied them on the piano.
The evening was sponsored by OVK and Lief Platteland. Attendees were encouraged to bring blankets so that the Round Table could distribute them.
13 June 2024
The next morning, a large group of educators signed up for a workshop sponsored by the Avbob Poetry Project. They were introduced to the Six Bricks concept, which uses six Lego® bricks to teach a variety of educational concepts. This programme was created and developed in South Africa. The teachers seemed to have as much fun as their learners will when these tools are used in the classroom.
The Avbob Poetry Project aims to upskill teachers, as this has a positive impact on their learners. It is estimated that the teachers who have attended the workshop will accumulatively influence the lives of 25 000 learners.
While the teachers were taught, André Schwartz held a masterclass in singing. He taught learners from Cradock High School and helped each one individually to bring the best out of their voices. Imagine being taught by André Schwartz, a voice personally approved by Andrew Lloyd Webber, while Coenie de Villiers accompanies you on the piano! It was lovely to see how every one of the students’ performances lifted while Schwartz taught them how best to interpret the song they had chosen, and how to get more from their own vocal cords without damaging them.
After lunch, Coenie de Villiers taught a group of learners how to turn poems into lyrics and then to set them to music. It was a practical, hands-on class, based on verses written by the learners themselves.
That evening, De Villiers and Deon Meyer took to the stage to perform a version of their extremely successful show Karoo suite. The concert took place at the Cradock High School, which benefited from the ticket sales.
Large bonfires were lit, and soup, bread and sherry were served.
Meyer’s books were on sale as well.
Friday 14 June
On the Friday, numerous participants delivered 20-minute talks on creativity and the need for stories and storytelling. Each spoke about something that had stood out for them.
Melina Smit
Mike Roy
Thomas Jeffrey
Deon Meyer
André Schwartz
Coenie de Villiers
Bridget Harrison
Sisipho Mangete
Siyabulela Mfuku
Bulelani Mfuku
Ian Sutherland
Crystal Warren
Lisa asked participants to knit a square towards a blanket. I gamely tried.
Afterwards, attendance certificates were handed out to the teachers who had attended the festival. They will also be accredited with CPD points for attending the educational meetings.
On Friday evening, during supper, I interviewed Coenie de Villiers, Deon Meyer and André Schwartz on their careers. It was a fun interview, filled with laughter.
Saturday 15 June
On Saturday morning, we assembled at the Schreiner House Museum. This museum is managed by the Amazwi Literary Museum in Makhanda.
Members of the Amazwi staff were the first to address the audience. Among other things, they explained how they created a series of children’s books during a Book Dash event in Makhanda.
Members of the audience could see and feel the books. All of these books are available online and may be downloaded free of charge.
Crystal Warren
Thomas Jeffrey
Zongezile Mathshoba
Petro Nhlapo
After a short break, four Cradock-based authors talked about their books.
Marielize van Zyl
Johan Michau
Elona Rasmeni
Jimmy Simons
I then interviewed Ian Sutherland and David Viviers on their books.
For lunch, Tony Jackman prepared a three-course meal in honour of Sandra Antrobus, the matriarch of the family that has, over the years, built Die Tuishuise and Victoria Manor. The hotel’s kitchen cooked and prepared the food. Many of the staff have been at the hotel for 20 or more years.
Jackman told the story of each course. He then published those stories in the Daily Maverick. I share the links below to each story following.
For starters, we received liver pâté with hanepoot jam.
Our next course was fynvleis, a traditional meal cooked with venison, pork and mutton. Sandra Antrobus taught Jackman how to prepare a fynvleis and game pie. Our pudding was Japie se gunsteling from Kook en geniet. It is a steamed pudding met with orange juice and grated orange peel. Delicious!
Some of us then went back to our rooms or the quaint cottages assigned to us, while others headed towards the National Mountain Zebra Park, which is about 20 kilometres from the hotel.
The final scheduled act of the festival belonged to Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit who shared slides from their upcoming books.
Do visit Karoospace.co.za for all their adventures and books.
The festival ended with an open mic session after another delicious supper.
Andile Bhali opened the proceedings.
Siyabulela Mfuku, Sisipho Mangete and Bulelani Mfuku turned up the heat with their jazz. They are alumni from the Access Music Project (AMP) in Makhanda.
A young preteen then did a stand-up show. He wore amazing shoes.
Bridget Harrison performed.
Crystal Warren read her poetry.
Mike Roy told the story of a love letter he had found. Melina Smit read the letter while Bridget played in the background. It was a moving performance.
Angus Sutherland read a speech originally read by Ronald Reagan.
His father, Ian Sutherland, read from his first novel, Subversion.
Liza Badenhorst read her own poetry.
Then the guys from AMP blew some more jazz to end the festival.
There shall be more!
Do make a note to attend next year’s Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival!
And do not forget to attend the ATKV-Skryfskool and Etienne van Heerden Veldsoirée, which will be held from 20 to 22 September 2024.
See also:
Schreiner’s legacy attracts international contributors to Cradock
Die sprekers | The speakers: Etienne van Heerden Veldsoirée 2023
