If ticket sales are anything to go by, this year's US Woordfees promises to be a big hit.
Upward of 45% more tickets have already been sold compared with this time last year. And forget about trying to get hold of tickets for Nataniël's show. Ditto for lunch with Pieter-Dirk Uys, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year. Because all the tickets have already been sold out.
Also sold out are the conversation on China in Africa, the talks with writer Marlene van der Westhuizen, who will be sharing secrets of a French cooking class, and with De Wet Potgieter, whose book on Al-Qaeda in South Africa is creating quite a stir, and the performance by the University choir.
And to get tickets for the dramas Dogma, Die seemeeu and Vir ewig en altyd – you'll have to jump to it! The same goes for the show Hart en See with the ever-popular Laurika Rauch and Elvis Blue and for the show Doep is nie dood nie. And there are only a few tickets left for the discussion with the architect couple Gawie and Gwen Fagan and for Willem Anker's discussion of his book, Buys; 'n grensroman, about the larger-than-life Coenraad de Buys.
As always, there will be several meet-and-eateries dotted around the heart of the festival premises. Early birds, for example, will be able to settle in at the Plataan café from six in the morning to look and listen how the team of Monitor makes radio happen. Several RSG programmes will also be broadcast live from the Plataan throughout the day, with strong emphasis on Woordfees happenings. The pop-up restaurant under the plane trees will provide something to slake your thirst and still your hunger while you linger and listen.
De Vette Mossel will have edible offerings until late into the night to accompany the various musicians strutting their stuff there; Piet Botha, Arnold Carstens, Koos Kombuis, Schalk Joubert, Jan Blohm and Gerald Clark are just a few of the artists who will be performing. De Vette Mossel will also be hosting Storievuur, storytelling accompanied by fires and food.
For information, go to the Woordfees web page by clicking here
