Berenice & Jimmy Louw from Constantia, attended the Bastille celebrations on Sunday
“We love atmosphere at the Bastille celebrations and have been coming for the last three years” beamed Berenice Louw from Constantia as she savoured the spicy prawn curry with her husband Jimmy.
The marquee was a vibrant setting as visitors feasted on the treats of Franschhoek, surrounded by red, white and blue balloons and decor. A live band entertained the audience who were spoilt for choice with all the delights on offer.
Nick Davies presents his MCC wines from Morena at the Bastille festival
Amongst some familar faces, La Petite Ferme, Moreson, Pierre Jourdan, Bread & Wine and Porcupine Ridge I met Nick Davies of Morena who specialises in Methode Cap Classique (MCC). Davies produces an array of dry, zesty MCC wines and offers visitors a more personalised insight with his champagne tours at his farm in Franschhoek.
Sunday was the quieter of the two-day celebrations as Darielle Robertson of DNA events confirmed an attendance of 3,155 visitors on the Saturday and closed the marquee for further entry. At 1pm attendance was at 1017 visitors with no queue outside and everybody was able to flow easily through the marquee and taste the food and wine.
Glenwood battled hard to retain their trophy
A quick break from the marqee to watch the finals of the barrel rolling competition, sponsored by Porcupine ridge. Sixteen teams entered and some were eliminated during the heats on Saturday. Teams of two from each vineyard lined up for the finals, focused and eager to win trophy.
“We have the best barrel rollers in the wine region” chanted Ludwig Maske of La Cotte over the loud speaker. Maske was laying down the gauntlet for a possible future competition against vineyards from Paarl and Stellenbosch?
The teams made it look easy, but clearly being young and fit helps. Well done to Mont Rochelle, the winners this year.
Franschhoek steel band
The Bastille festival is now in it’s 16th year and held every year on the weekend closest to July 14th – when in 1789, locals stormed the Bastille in Paris and was a contributing factor in the French revolution. Franschhoek is where 150 french hugenots arrived between 1688 – 1700, giving the area it’s affintiy with France. The Bastille festival is also important for attracting several thousand visitors in winter to an area which is usually quiet this time of year.
The main road in Franschhoek was a hype of activity as shops and restaurants were draped in red, white and blue. In front of the townhall, the Franschhoek steel band entertained passers by with their energetic calypso music and collected signatures in celebration of a very important birthday. Happy 92nd birthday to Nelson Mandela.
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What a wonderful idea. I have asked the organisers of the festival and the Band Manager is Julian Hendricks Tel 021 876 2220 and Cell 082 898 5070
Hi. Could you please forward me the details of the Steel Band as would love to have them play at my wedding. They were great!