Supearlative start to an iconic event
The first weekend of the inaugural virtual Knysna Oyster Festival had been so successful, that by Monday there was already talk of potentially combining the virtual and physical for next year’s event.
This year has been tough on many around the world, and just as tough on Knysna, a town heavily reliant on tourism to help sustain its economy.
The restriction on travel that forms part of Covid-19 regulations had a direct impact on the town and the many events and festivals that are held throughout the year.
But in true Knysna fashion, organisers would defy the notion that events can’t still take place, as they took the festival online for the first time ever. Festival coordinator Andrew Finn said while it has been a bit tough adapting everything to go completely online, they have seen an outpour of support from across the world.
“We’ve had people from just about everywhere in the world tune in to enjoy the events. There have been viewers from Amsterdam and England who have been able to enjoy the festival from thousands of kilometres away, and it’s been great to see,” he said. “We have been cross-posting all of our content on as many available social media pages as possible, and this has really paid off for us. We’ve had upwards of 4 000 accumulative views for each of our events so far, and there’s been nothing but positive feedback and support.”
The first Famsa Knysna Trivia Night was held on Monday 29 June.
Photo: Screenshot, Facebook
In the Knysna Cycle Tour, which forms part of the Oyster Festival, the professional Zwift race was held on Sunday afternoon, 28 June, with more than 60 riders participating from as far afield as Argentina, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Ireland, Chile, Kuwait, Malawi, Denmark, Israel and Puerto Rico. This type of exposure bodes well for the festival, according to Finn.
“This year is all about destination marketing, and the more people hear and see about Knysna, the better.”
The success has been so good that they are even considering combining the virtual fest with the physical fest next year. “Well, we certainly can’t ignore it now. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes, but so far it is looking as though we need to seriously consider bringing the two together next year,” he said.
The festival programme will run until Saturday 4 July with events streamed on the festival’s Facebook page, Knysna Oyster Festival.
The first Famsa Knysna Trivia Night was held on Monday 29 June.
Photo: Screenshot, Facebook
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News