This year’s Knysna Oyster Festival was a bumper event, taking place over ten days with a rich and varied programme appealing to wine lovers, foodies, holidaymakers, sports lovers, and adventure seekers. Join us as we take a look back at the event that was and start dreaming about the next one:
Activities for the entire family
The festival offered a vast array of activities with something to keep every family member entertained. You could get inked at the Knysna Mini Tattoo Festival, view the vessels at the Boats of Knysna exhibition, learn to fly over the water with EFoil Cape Town, or try your hand at the oyster shucking competition. There was mother and child pilates, karaoke parties, thrift fairs, journaling workshops, rockpool tours, underwater scuba cleanups, and rewilding programmes at Pledge Nature Reserve.
Get fit in the forest
With some of the best forests in South Africa, if not the world, the Knysna Oyster Festival offered a range of fun fitness events through the trees. Runners could give it their all at the KnysnaX Trail Series Winter Run, Sunrise Trail, Knysna Forest Marathon, Featherbed Trail Run that also routes through our Alkira Lodge Nature Conservancy, and the Houtkapper Trail Run. There were also events for cyclists with 12, 35, 42, and 82km routes in the Knysna Cycle Tour.
Wine and art in Knysna
One of the highlights of the event was the Knysna Wine Festival. An art walkabout through the town let festival-goers whet their appetite on a tour of Knysna’s local art galleries before enjoying tastings from more than 40 fabulous South African wineries. All the wines were also available to purchase at cellar door prices to enjoy on the day or stock up those cellars back home. Some of our top picks included the Chamonix 2020 Cabernet Franc, the Paul Cluver 2019 Estate Chardonnay, the Raats 2021 Old Vine Chenin Blanc, and the La Motte 2021 Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc.
Craft beer and live music festival
The festival ended with a bang, with the craft beer festival taking place on the final day. Totties Country Market hosted the craft beer festival, where a selection of local artists showcased their custom works of art alongside the organic food and craft beer stalls. The market was also a kid’s paradise with model train rides, self-peddle ponies, sand art, yummy pancakes and ice cream, trampolines, and a secure playground. For the more energetic, there was also the Houtkapper trail run in the morning and a friendly soccer tournament at Loerie Park.
Missed this year’s event? Be sure to book early for next year’s Knysna Oyster Festival!
