Come Cold and Rain, the show did go on!

The 2012 Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival had its Media Launch on the 4^th of May 2012, heralding the event which took place last weekend. The 22^nd installment of the Festival kicked off with a bang with the annual Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival cocktail evening setting the tone for the festivities of the weekend on Thursday, 12 July 2012. 

Forecasts of bad weather in the Cacadu region did, however, dampen festivalgoers’ fervour to enjoy the 22^nd installment of the event with close to 7000 people attending this year. The performances from both the local BCRM talent as well as the national artists that formed part of the line up for this year’s festival did get the festivities back on track with brilliant performances from Elvis Blue and Professor on day one of the Festival.

On day two of the Festival however the bad weather did prevent some of the big names such as Zahara, Emo Adams and Jamali from being able to perform on the big stage of the Castle Lager gig rig. They did however give the audience a taste of what their performances would have been if not for the weather in the Castle Lager beer tent. This was appreciated by young and old and many expressed the hope that the artists would return to the festival as many were looking forward to their performances. All in all, it was another successful year for the Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival. We can’t wait to see what next year has in store.  

A little reminder...

Only THREE days left until the...22^nd CASTLE LAGER EAST CAPE BILTONG FESTIVAL!

Because we want you to have all the fun humanly possible at the Festival, we’ve drawn up a little checklist for you:

Let’s start with your accessories shall we...

•  Make sure you have your scarf, beanie and gloves.
• Then you need to have your warmest coat on, this is the Karoo we’re talking about, and it can get    extremely cold especially in the evenings.
• An umbrella...just in case.

We know we promised to keep you warmed up with all the world-class entertainment, but there’s really just so much entertainment can do to keep you warm.

Other items that might be of use...

• Warm blankets for everyone. 
• If you’re bringing young ones along, make sure they are dressed appropriately and make sure they know your cell phone number just in case they get separated from you.

Our mission is to make this the most the enjoyable festival ever for you, your family and friends and so we are also introducing a 24 hour shuttle service.

Yes you read right, a 24 hour personal driver to cart you off to wherever your heart desires in Somerset East for the duration of the Festival.

Boarding of the shuttle will be from the Hospital Road entrance of the Festival and each trip will cost R10 per person, group rates are negotiable. So for your own personal driver at the Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival 2012 you can call Joseph on 082 220 0999.

So come on, come hang with us!

Supporting Local Talent

The local performing artists from the whole of the Blue Crane Route Municipality (BCRM), which includes Somerset East (home of the Biltong Festival), Pearston and Cookhouse, form part of the entertainment at the Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival 2012.

This section of the programme encourages and gives local performers a platform where they can exhibit their talent. The performances include soloist musicians, poetry, hip hop, gospel music, kwaito, gumboots dance, and traditional dance, ballroom dancing, choral and opera music and pantsula jive.

Gumboots dancing

Traditional dancing

Hip Hop performance

Ballroom dancing

 

So come support local talent Friday the 13^th of July, which will mark the start of the Festival. The over 18 performers such as Ncedani Youth Group, NB Gees, Perfect Harmonies, KWV, Three Tenors, Pier Venter, Lindelwa Mboya, Trevisha Miggels and Sinethemba Alam will be performing on the big stage, the Castle Lager Gig Rig, starting from 13h00 whilst the under 18’s such as Siyakhula Traditional Dance Group, Cookhouse gumboots dance, Siyakhula Gumboots and another Three Tenors, get to showcase their talents on Saturday 14^th July, starting at 11h00 in the Bokjol.

A roaring good time for the kids

There’s loads of festive kiddies fun to be had at this year’s Castle Lager East Cape Biltong Festival with Popsie the Clown set to entertain with balloon animals and various art projects, the candy floss machine running at full speed, plenty of colourful drinks and sweets everywhere (not forgetting the biltong) - its enough to fill any kids heart with bliss. The kids also get to enjoy getting their faces painted and the delight of having a turn on the Fun4U carnival rides. All this fun and activity will keep them happy and talking for dddays - talk about kiddies paradise!  

Since the Festival is all about fun, family and biltong, there are loads of town activities that the whole family can enjoy. These are the Gastronomical, Heritage and Architectural tours of the town as well as the Festival’s Mountain Bike Ride that the kids might also enjoy.

Give the kids a roaring good time to end off their winter holidays with the whole family and come hang with us!