Get to the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival
Every year in September visitors flock to the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival – a celebration of spring and the upcoming new growing season. Visitors never fail to be impressed with the Magoebaskloof countryside in spring, when it is a riot of color and filled with the promise of new life. The Magoebaskloof Hotel, near the village of Haenertsburg in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, will once again be hosting the event, which is set to take place from 20 to 28 September 2008.
The Magoebaskloof Spring Festival features a crafters’ market at which talented crafters in the area will display their creative talents and their unique art works. Visitors can expect to find that special item to decorate or use in their own homes, while stocking up on gifts for loved ones. Items on display and for sale will include pewter work, basketwork, clothing, wooden and wrought iron furniture, traditional beadwork jewelry, modern silver jewelry, pottery and paintings. Scrap-booking enthusiasts will find a host of new ideas on how to make the most of their precious photographs. A wide variety of glass items, including stained glass and beads made from recycled glass, will give visitors a new perspective on this versatile product. Those who enjoy the hands-on approach can get involved in the many craft demonstrations and workshops. Learn how to make your own glass beads, get creative with paper play or make a unique mosaic according to your own design.
Of course no festival is complete without plenty of tasty treats, and the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival Food Hall will be packed with products to tantalize the taste buds. Enjoy delicious home-made jams, fudge, shortbread and more. Take home some exotic pickled veggies, olives, organic cheeses, dried fruit, biltong and pastas.
A display of exquisite orchids by the members of the Wolkberg Orchid Society is always a popular feature of the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival. Visitors can stroll through the display on the front lawn of the Magoebaskloof Hotel and enjoy the beauty and incredible variety of these unusual flowering plants. As in the past, the local nursery, Cheerio Gardens will put on a breath-taking display of flowering Japanese cherry trees, rhododendrons, azaleas and crab apple trees.
As part of the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival, the town of Haenertsburg offers a number of activities to festival goers, the highlight being the popular festival market. Visitors can also take a walk through the nearby indigenous forest to a sparkling waterfall, with monkeys clambering through the treetops overhead and the sound of birds all around – a must-do for nature-lovers.
Certainly the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival offers visitors plenty to see and do. It’s a great way to celebrate spring in anticipation of a hot, sunny South African summer.
