Chris Chameleon | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

For the 20th year the Two Oceans Hermanus Whale Festival will be paying tribute to the Southern Right whales, who visit Walker Bay in Hermanus from May – December to mate and give birth, giving Hermanus the enviable reputation of offering the best land-based whale watching in the world. Food and wine pairing forms a strong foundation of the Festival this year, sponsored by Two Oceans for the first time, the brand also supporting the SASSI (Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) responsible eating of fish.

Billed as an ‘enviro-arts’ festival, the Two Oceans Whale Festival starts tomorrow and runs until Tuesday 4 October. On the environmental side, the focus will be educational, incorporating whales, sharks, dolphins, penguins and seals, the ‘Big 5′ for the Cape Whale Coast. A strong focus is on education for children. Saving the endangered rhinos has been incorporated into the Festival too.

On the arts side, the Festival is mainly music-focused, with concerts by well-known performers such as Chris Chameleon, Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels, Steve Hofmeyer, and Prime Circle spread over six music venues. Many concerts are free of charge. A Classical concert by the Odeion Quartet takes place at Bouchard Finlayson in the Hemel en Aarde Valley on Friday evening, while the Fidelio Trio will perform in the Municipal Auditorium on Saturday evening. A Quilters’ exhibition can be viewed at the Dutch Reformed Church, and there is a craft marquee too. In addition, a vintage car show, a Mardi Gras, as well as a number of sport activities such as a mountain bike race, a half marathon, and a Harbour to Harbour swim will take place. The sport events run from 4 – 9 October. Kfm will be broadcasting live from Hermanus.

It is the food and wine pairing that is of particular interest, and has far more focus than in past years. At the Two Oceans Food Court at Market Square, a number of food vendors will focus on seafood, and other marine-themed and speciality dishes. In addition, local produce, artisanal cheeses, bakery items, charcuterie, as well as chocolates will be available to taste and buy. Two Oceans’ wines will be sold at R45 a bottle. Giggling Gourmet Jenny Morris, entertainer and Checkers cheese spokesperson Nataniel, and actresses Shaleen Surtie-Richards and Brumilda van Rensburg will be doing cooking demonstrations, and allowing visitors to taste their food as well as wine for free at the Checkers’ Living Table, at different time slots. A new Mountie Fisherman’s Market will be held in Mount Pleasant, offering fresh fish, snoek, fishcakes, and Cape Malay delicacies for sale. Throughout September twenty members of the Hermanus Restaurant Owners’ Forum, under the chairmanship of restaurateur Fabio Lenci, have been offering a special on Two Ocean’s wines, at R55 per bottle and R15 per glass, and this will continue throughout the Festival. Each of the participants will offer a combination food item with a bottle of Two Oceans’ wine at a special price.

Festival visitors are advised to leave home early, and to expect a traffic build-up coming into Hermanus. Last year 133000 whale lovers visited Hermanus, and this year 150000 are expected to attend the Whale Festival. Tomorrow Tourism Month will be officially concluded with the opening of the Two Oceans Hermanus Whale Festival by Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, with Western Cape Minister of Tourism Alan Winde also attending. The Whale Festival, and the Southern Right whales with it, have received fantastic coverage, on the front page of the Sunday Times last week, and daily on Kfm this week. SABC2 is broadcasting about Hermanus and the Whale Festival from 6h00 – 8h00 tomorrow morning, and its camera crews have been in Hermanus, filming the beautiful assets of the region, including whales and the Hermanus Wine Route, for most of September.

Two Oceans Hermanus Whale Festival, 30 September – 4 October. Tel (028) 313-0928. www.whalefestival.co.za. Music tickets can be booked via www.computicket.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

The Easter weekend looks to be a busy one for the hospitality industry, a welcome last burst of business until the dreaded winter lull commences after the weekend.

Three major events take place this weekend: the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, and the KKNK in Oudtshoorn. These events are estimated by Cape Town Routes Unlimited to generate R 780 million in income for the Western Cape, reports Southern African Tourism Update.

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon will be run for the 40th time in Cape Town today, with a 56 km ultra marathon, a 21 km marathon, and 5 km and 2,5 km fun runs creating a choice for the 26 000 participants.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is in its 11th year, and its economic benefit is estimated at close to R 600 million. The star of the Festival will be George Benson, who performs at the Kippies venue at the Cape Town International Convention Centre tonight. His show will be a tribute to Nat King Cole. Judith Sephuma, Toots Thieleman, Jason Moran, La Melodia, Jonathan Butler, TKZee, MiKaNiC, Regina Carter, Melanie Scholtz, and Bilal are some of the 40 artists and bands performing today and tomorrow. Billed as “Africa’s Grandest Gathering” and rated as the fourth best jazz event in the world, the Jazz Festival is expected to draw 32 000 jazz fans over the two days.

The KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) runs until 8 April, and is a feast of mainly Afrikaans music and theatre. Experimental plays usually are first performed in Oudtshoorn. Award-winning ‘Die Naaimasjien’, with actress Sandra Prinsloo, will be the highlight. Musically, David Kramer will entertain with ‘David Kramer se Kaapse Breyani’. Other musical stars include Elsabe Zietsman, Amanda Strydom, Karen Zoid, Coenie de Villiers, Chris Chameleon, Koos Kombuis, classical guitarist James Grace, and the inimitable Nataniel.

March was a bad month for business, severely down on previous years, and it is evident that hospitality businesses are concerned about the winter ahead, given the impact that punitive increases in petrol, electricity, municipal rates and other municipal charges will have on consumers. The only counter to these cost increases is the decrease in interest rates by 0,5 percentage points, reducing the costs of car and bond repayments. A number of restaurants may not survive the quiet period ahead, and the reduced bookings for the World Cup may not bolster their earnings enough for them to survive the winter.

Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, said as follows:”The industry went through a rough patch over the last 18 months because of the global economic recession. It is therefore very reassuring to know that our destination plays host to events of this calibre. They certainly support the Western Cape Government’s objective of growth, job creation and poverty reduction and will help to build a long-term, sustainable tourism industry”.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com