The festival, first known as the Weenen Wildsfees, is arranged by a committee comprising members from the Weenen and Colenso NG Churches.
Lots of fun was had at the Pull Saw Competition.
We caught up with committee secretary Marelize Beukes to discuss how the festival has changed from its beginnings as the Weenen Wildsfees.
Adriaan and ChadrinèSmit supported the festival.
“A member of our congregation said that we could use a portion of his land that will be known as the WAMBA fest grounds. It’s opposite the Weenen Game Reserve; they have been wonderful in offering festival-goers amazing, value-for-money deals.”
Their first festival, while well attended, washed out with heavy rains. This year, there was not a single drop, only the merciless sun beating down.
Dr Willem Erasmus at the 2019 WAMBA Festival in Weenen.
“Because it was quite hot, we made sure there were plenty of cold-drinks and ice-creams to keep festival-goers cool while they enjoyed the numerous activities on offer.”
There was certainly no lack of adventure, with motorbikes, hand saw competitions, boeresport, 4×4, enduro, gong shoot, pipe cars and so much more.
“We wanted to bring an element of adventure to the fest; something different; and since our venue was simply perfect for it, we thought why not!”
Marietjie Buys and Lammie Maree take a moment to pose for the camera.
Towards the end of the afternoon, braai flames leapt up as people prepared to make their dinner the way South Africans know how.
“It was just a lovely atmosphere. Best of all is that no one had to worry about salads, since it was all available for sale at the festival.”
After the day’s activities, it was time to end the festival off with the performance of two beloved local artists, Adam and Leah.
“Everyone had a wonderful time; the talent on stage was remarkable!”
The WAMBA Festival was initially arranged to keep NG Kerk Colenso and Weenen going financially.
“We have very small congregations and the churches often need maintenance work and repairs to be done. We had to come up with something to help us do that.”
The festival is doing so well that they decided the community should benefit as well.
“We donate some of the proceeds of the WAMBA Festival to certain charitable causes in our communities. The festival is about giving back. We want to thank the people from Northern KZN for their wonderful and faithful support.”
