Storytelling Festival in the Drakenstein Valley Paarl
19 to 26 September 2015 – Heritage Week
Come and share our communal stories of hope
During the second annual Storytelling Festival taking place in Paarl and surrounding towns from 19
to 26 September 2015, as part of Heritage Week, visitors will be able to listen, taste, experience and
chat along between the mountains, wine, words, buildings and people of the valley.
The Storytelling festival is a platform for the Drakenstein valley’s residents, from Saron and Gouda,
Wellington and Paarl, all the way to Simondium, to share their stories in unique ways, and to learn
about and from another.
The Storytelling festival is an initiative of the local radio station, Radio KC, in collaboration with a
group of community organisations in the fields of heritage and culture, including the Afrikaanse
Taalmuseum en -monument, the Breytenbach Centre, Drakenstein Tourism, the Eugène Marais
Foundation and Koinonia. Drakenstein Hospice is the official beneficiary of the festival and WESGRO
is the main sponsor.
During September Radio KC will broadcast daily stories about the region’s rich history and
heritage – with life stories and insights shared by ordinary people, local legends and change-
makers in politics, sports and entertainment. From 21 to 25 September one can attend live
broadcasts of Radio KC’s ON THE COUCH sessions free of charge, hosted at Radio KC’s studio
in Breda Street in Paarl, between 09:00 and 10:00 and 19:00 and 20:00. Come and listen to
Marlene le Roux, Johan Bakkes, Conrad Sidego, Claude de Jager, Jerome Fredericks, Anton
Siebrits, Petrina Pakoe, Raymond Cornelissen and Jerome Levendal.
Paarl Toastmasters offers a special storytelling meeting on 23 September in the
Historium Conference Centre next to the Afrikaanse Taalmuseum in Pastorie Avenue, Paarl –
non-members are welcome to attend.
Two events are held in Mbekweni: On 20 September in the Lukhanyo Hall, The Jungle
Theatre Company presents a performance and workshop for children aged 4 years and older
based on a traditional Zulu folktale. How Stories Began is set in ancient times on the Wild
Coast, before people knew how to tell stories, and is presented in English and isiXhosa. And
on 19 September, also in the Lukhanyo Hall, residents from Mbekweni will stage a play
Counter Love telling a story based on the culture known as “Ukuthwala” (Forced Marriage).
Unlike the conventional way of love and marriage, in Counter Love one is forced to marry a
complete stranger without any personal feelings.
Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument celebrates its 40th birthday this year and offers
interesting events at the monument and at the museum in town. This includes a canon firing
and talk on 24 en 26 September as well as a talk about herbs on Heritage Day, 24
September.
The Taalmonument also presents Ghellie-klets on 22 September at Stumps at the Boland
Cricket Stadion – stories by well-known and local storytellers, including Johan Bakkes, Peter
de Villiers, rappers Hemelbesem and Ben 10, writers Gaireyah Fredericks and Gerrit
Rautenbach, and the musicians Riku Lätti, Churchil and Loit Sôls.
Ghost stories from the past will be shared around the fire on 20 September at Amharic
Community Development, in Amstelhof, Paarl. Residents from Gouda and Saron will share
their stories from days bygone on 22 September at 10:00 at the Gouda VGK Church and at
14:00 at the Beerwinkel Hall in Saron.
Residents who grew up in Rose and Tempelier Street in Paarl will share their stories on 24
September at Het Gesticht Museum in Paarl, with poet Simone Naik Hagfeldt as guest artist.
On 23 September at 17:00 you can join an informal get-together over a glass of wine on the
old school grounds of the Paarl Public School for Boys in Rozenfontein Street in Paarl where
writer Eugène Marais matriculated in 1887.
Trees have their own stories to tell – that is why the new Paarl Tree Route was developed by
the Paarl Gardening Society. On 26 September at 10:00 Mildie Malan will give a short history
of the “Wasboom” at the WA de Klerk Memorial on the parking area across from the Police
Station in Paarl, followed by a tour of four of the 40 trees on the route.
The Breytenbach Sentrum in Wellington hosts its fourth Tuin van Digters poetry festival on
19 and 20 September.
The Ou Meulteater in Paarl offers children’s theatre on 19 September at 10:00 (Die prinses
en die ertjie) and Pienkvoet at 20:00.
A special Storytelling Competition is also offered for stories from Saron to Simondium. The
Boland is full of stories, some are recorded, others are passed on orally from generation to
generation. And others are public property. We would like to hear YOUR special story and to
document it in order to preserve it for future generation. So, if you have a special story
about your town, share it with us. Send your story to info@dlta.co.za or drop it off at the
Wellington or Paarl Information Offces before 1 October 2015. You could win a weekend trip
for a family of four!
According to members of the organising committee, Harlan Cloete, Chairperson of Radio KC, and
Isabeau Botha, manager of the Afrikaanse Taalmonument, twenty one years into democracy our
local communities are still divided which leads to a big need for locals to especially share their untold
stories – especially stories of hope that allow people to take hands and move on.
“We believe that we can build stronger social cohesion through storytelling. The Storytelling
Festival’s aim is for both residents and visitors to get to know the area and its people better through
its stories.”
For the festival programme or more information, visit www.storievertelfees.co.za or
UITGEREIK DEUR/ISSUED BY:
Isabeau Botha
Bestuurder: Bemarking en Kommunikasie I Manager: Marketing and Communication
Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument