Durban - It’s here ‒ CraftFest, the festival that celebrates everything craft ‒ kicks off the public holiday weekend on Friday.
Brought to you by the Independent on Saturday and the Shongweni Farmers’ and Craft Market, it’s a fun family day out in the country celebrating great food, great craft drinks and great craft.
The festival runs from 10am to 5pm at the Shongweni Market site.
The array of food on offer is a feast, from authentic Indian curries, to boerewors rolls, Turkish pizzas and Moroccan lamb on the spit.
New this year are Menzi Mbonambi and Simone Carolissan of Exotikally Divine Ital (sic).
“Ital comes from the Rastafarians and means energy in the food, food that is clean and pure,” says Mbonambi of their colourful and distinctly vegan offerings.
“Our food is from different parts of Africa. It’s an expression of our continent, the colours of our continent, the life force of our continent,” he says from his home in Coffee Bay.
Expect coconut fried rice from Malawi, or cassava chips that talk to Mozambique and West Africa. Amadumbes feature avocado and sweet potato.
“We elevate the food and give it another fusion twist and present it fresh to you. We forage for imfino (spinach) ‒ and sometimes include sweet potato leaves and wild leaves in the mix. Our flatbreads and chapatis are stuffed with veggies,” he says.
For Mbonambi, the market is a beautiful place to meet people.
“People love the food and receive us well. Some started buying from day one and have become regulars.”
Craft beers feature Durban’s Robsons Brewery, the Nguni Brewery, the Standeaven Brewery, That Brewery known for its Blonde, Reds and IPA, and Langtons, known for its beers and ciders.
When it comes to gins and vodkas, the Karoa Distillery is the new kid on the block. The Gin Co, with their range of premixed gin cocktails, and Robsons are among the highlights. Gin with kombucha is a new trend worth trying.
Wildhouse artisan wines will be another highligh,t along with Vrede and Lust and Charles Fox Champagne. Pretty Drinks specialise in an array of cocktails that take in a host of flavours and inspirations.
This year we have brought some of South Africa’s finest musicians to CraftFest. Durban-based Tanner Wareham is a live loop artist and a veritable one-man-band, while Black Whiskey is known for his charismatic stage presence.
Pretoria-based folk rock duo Bad Peter will give a guitar demonstration second to none. Local soul and Indie artist Freddie L will entertain in his distinctive style, while those who remember the 2019 CraftFest will be pleased Pretoria’s Pedro Barbosa is back. The man with a big voice and even bigger stage presence really got things pumping.
Then there’s the chance to browse among the crafters who use their ingenuity to create amazing products from woodwork and leather, to clothing, jewellery and beadwork and decor items.
Children’s clothes, plus-sized clothes and vintage clothing all feature. And in keeping with greener times, catch stores selling used books or records, or funky junk or even antique tools. Vintage clothing and repurposed clothing from vintage fabrics feature, as do reconditioned leather jackets.
Your children too will have a lot to entertain them in the dedicated kids zone and all the rides and jumping castles and slides are free. Standeaven says all parents have to do is sign an indemnity form and the child will get an armband allowing entry to the rides. All rides are manned but parental supervision is still required.
Booking is by the Howya app, a new one-stop entertainment and lifestyle app that keeps everything at your fingertips. Tickets are R180 for adults, R90 for children over 12, and R50 for children 4-12. Adult tickets include a free CraftFest glass.
The Independent on Saturday