Ballito’s berrylicious festival

Think strawberries on your head, in your mouth, on canvas, with wine and even in beer!

All of this and more will be at the first-ever Ballito Strawberry Festival at Cappeny Estates on Saturday, September 26.

The one of a kind strawberry farm belongs to Xolani and Yoliswa Gumede, a couple with berrynormous courage and vision.

“We are first generation farmers and started our urban farm three years ago from scratch. We are continuously refining our systems to make sure we deliver consistent high quality strawberries, which is incredibly exciting, but challenging,” said Yoliswa, the marketing executive of Cappeny Estates.

The 17 hectare property produces up to two thousand punnets a day, which they supply to retailers, the hospitality industry and local farmers markets.Their strawberries will soon be leaping onto the global stage, as they are Global GAP certified, meaning they can export to anywhere in the world.

The Gumedes are excited to invite locals and tourists to be part of the strawberry celebration, which offers a variety of activities.

“We wanted to ensure that there is something appealing for everyone in the family, so we have pulled out all the stops,” said Yoliswa.

Besides picking the heart-shaped treats, you can also get creative in the crazy hat competition or be inspired by food art concept works by the acclaimed chef and food writer, Mpume Mqwebu of Africa meets Europe Cuisine.

For those with a big appetite, the strawberry eating contest will be a juicy challenge.

Clover will be the “official cream” of the Ballito Strawberry Festival and SABC 3’s Clover Little Big Cook-off judge and chef, Coco Fathi Reinarhz, will be creating signature dishes using strawberries.

Fine wine connoisseurs can enjoy wine and strawberry pairing, while beer lovers can look forward to a strawberry inspired craft beer, which will be produced for the day.

Dads, you will not miss the rugby, as a live screening of the Springboks vs Samoa Rugby World Cup game will be showing.

“We are very grateful to the sponsors who have made the Ballito Strawberry Festival a reality. We would not have been able to get this far without Enterprise Ilembe and Trade and Investment KZN, whose support and advice has been invaluable,” said Yoliswa.

Thami Mkhwanazi, CEO of Enterprise Ilembe said tourism is a key driver in the region and events such as the Strawberry Festival were important for enhancing the region’s tourism offering.

“We are very excited to be associated with this first ever Strawberry Festival for the district and we invite holidaymakers not to miss out and to take advantage of the long weekend activities and events planned,” said Mkhwanazi.

The festival runs from 8am until 8pm and tickets are available at Computicket at a cost of R80 for entrance.

An additional R50 is charged for berry- picking, should you wish to do so.

There will be ample parking available.

For more information contact Yoliswa Gumede at Cappeny Estates 032-815 1168 or email festival@cappenyestates.com. The farm is located just past Collisheen Estate.

To get the the sweet farm, take the first right after the turnoff to the microlight airfield.

There are sign boards that lead you to the farm.