Plett Arts Festival celebrates La Vida Local and goes virtual
Plett Arts Festival celebrates La Vida Local and goes virtual from the 19th – 30th of June 2020.
A lot of Local and a little bit of Loca.
Plett Tourism is excited to announce that the much anticipated Plett ARTS Festival is going virtual this year, bringing the magic into your living room while you stay home and safe. The festival celebrates La Vida Local, putting the spotlight on Plett local artists who are going to blow your socks off from 19 to 30 June 2020 at a screen near you!
With support from the Western Cape’s tourism, trade and investment promotion agency Wesgro, Plett Tourism is able to promote and keep events alive in their town. At a time when funds have been diverted to health care and economic survival, the small injection into the events industry is greatly appreciated. At least 20 artistes will have a platform at the Plett ARTS Festival, and this affords them an opportunity to earn some money from their ticket sales for the virtual events. Without the funding support of R15 000, the festival would not be taking place.
Strange times demand innovative thinking and keeping arts and culture alive is crucial. “The Arts and Culture sector is constantly under threat in South Africa – underfunded and unsupported by the government and by private sector, plagued with insecurity of employment, lack of performance venues and national arts institutes. It is the artists, actors, performers, writers, and musicians who observe, pick up the threads, and weave the weft and warp of our social fabric. And then shake out that cloth of our society and lay it open on the ground,” says Cindy Wilson-Trollip, Plett ARTS Festival Director and Manager at Plett Tourism.
We have seen some of the greatest arts organisations worldwide opening up galleries, opera and ballet, all online and on demand and free of charge during the worldwide lockdown. “People have been entranced and transported by these performances which under normal circumstances, are largely the preserve of the elite. The arts has been a balm for the suffering during the incarceration of people all over the world,” says Wilson-Trollip.
In South Africa our musicians, comedians and performers have been streaming and Face-Booking in a bid to earn a living, and to keep up morale and a semblance of normality. There have been weekly impromptu live shows from rooftops at sunset, and famous musicians recording uplifting songs in aid of COVID survival, which have been used to promote South African cities.
Plett Tourism has curated a live stream of jazz, opera, popular classics, sacred and gospel music brought to you during the Plett in Concert live stream most evenings at 7pm. Every Friday kick back with Plett Sunsets’ chilled sundowner vibes brought to you by Surf Café. For the drama lovers, enjoy homegrown theatre and performance feature on The Fringe. And don’t miss the opportunity to Zoom in on music and art masterclasses, while gallery curators and artists-in-residence give insider views of their colourful world. House, rap and jazz fill the Plett Legends slot during festival, so dial in with friends or just hang out on your own for late afternoon beats.
Not stopping there, the festival will also focus on the work of emerging local filmmakers – the latest, sharpest graduates of Ikasi Creative Film School – featuring their short films on Plettflix.
“The creative industries account for a significant percentage of revenue stream for most towns. And for Plett Tourism, the Plett ARTS Festival has grown to become a calendar favourite along the Garden Route. We note that arts travelers tend to stay longer and spend more money than the average guest,” says Marius Venter (CEO of Plett Tourism). “Continuing Plett Tourism’s vision to showcase arts and culture in the area is part of our vibrant community’s lifeblood. During these unprecedented times, we hope to showcase our local and national talent to inspire that Plett feeling,” says Venter.
The La Vida Local focus puts the spotlight on our homes and our immediate communities and living a local life… a mad local life. “With this year’s ‘no travel, no touch, stay home’ it seemed a fitting tongue-in-cheek take on the madness which keeps us locked and local. The streaming process is challenging and a learning curve for all, but it seems like it will be here to stay in the new normal,” says Wilson-Trollip.
Plett ARTS Festival events will be live streamed on a private channel or are accessible on Youtube and Zoom. Tickets are open, visit pletttourism.com to register. It is going to be an awesome 2 weeks of live performance and you don’t even have to leave home!