The Ncera Macadamia Harvest Festival held from the 13th to 14th March 2020, was an offshoot of the Macadamia Farm Project. The event had offered revellers and families a plethora of activities ranging from helicopter rides and familiarisation tour through the plantation, cultural dance troupes, fashion, music extravaganza featuring both local and national artists, and a craft market.
There was a wellness component in the form of a 5km fun run and athletes stood a chance to win a number of prices. Prior to that, there was a graduation ceremony on the 13th of February where learners who were enrolled with the Macadamia Skills Academy which was an extension of the nuts farm project. On the same day, various agencies, Seta and government departments had brought services onwheels.
On the music front multi-talented Anga “NaakMusiQ” Mkhubalo and Christos “Dj Christos” Katsaitis, a seasoned house music DJ, headlined the festival which saw a wide array of popular local acts such as Randy FT, Simplicity, Band SA and Natz EFX took to the stage. “The festival is an enterprising way of promoting macadamia in the area and a springboard for development. What makes the festival unique is that it is linked to the harvest season and attracts people who are not even aware of macadamia,” explained Princess NomaXhosa Jongilanga of ImiDushane Traditional Council and chairperson of the Vulindlela Investment Trust.
“The festival will assist in the ongoing drive to make agriculture fashionable to our youth, celebrate annual harvest and black excellence in agriculture as this is the first ever community based macadamia site in the country,” added MEC Meth.
This year the event was in its third year, the two days Ncera Macadamia Harvest Festival, was a cultural melting pot and hosted under the banner of the ImiDushane Traditional Council, Ncera’s Village 1, about 40km from East London, near Kidd’s Beach on the R72 road to Port Alfred. “The festival is positioned as an agritourism property and promises to be a memorable experience. We are growing the festival organically to become the mainstay agritourism product in the area,” said Princess NomaXhosa Jongilanga.
The Macadamia Farm Project had survived from a very serious drought that had destroyed many crops and livestock in the Eastern Cape. Despite the drought, the project was raring to celebrate what was poised to be one of the biggest platforms for social cohesion and celebrating Mother Nature’s bounty on this growing and popular outing.
“The occasion is a highlight of the Ncera calendar, allowing families and friends to spend a leisurely day. There will be a plethora of activates. The festival will be preceded by a service delivery open day that will feature services on wheels and access to funding for the benefit of people in Ncera and surrounding villages. We have curated a festival that empowers locals and entertain visitors. Our programme for locals takes care of their well-being, funding prospects and participation in the event value chain” added Princess NomaXhosa.
Tickets for the music festival were sold at the gate for R35. Exhibitors were welcomed on the 13th March to participate on the community day which was a free-entry event, stalls were R120 per day and could be booked by emailing luxolo@picklink.co.za.
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