Spiller’s Wharf Heritage Festival

THE opening of the annual, four-day Spiller’s Wharf Heritage Festival at the Spiller’s Wharf complex from Wednesday, September 24 to 28, will coincide with the launch of an ongoing heritage photography project.

The first day of the festival falls on the Heritage Day public holiday, the perfect occasion to celebrate the South Coast’s amazing cultural and heritage diversity. This will be highlighted by the colourful and varied opening day programme.

Although it has not yet been finalised, the organisers hope to include a wide range of cultural activities, representing all the people of the South Coast and ranging from Hindu and Zulu dancing and ‘volkspele’ to a performance by a Scottish pipe band.

As well as all sorts of interesting heritage displays there will a variety of activities, including boat rides and a fishing competition, to highlight one of Port Shepstone’s most iconic green heritage assets, the Mzimkhulu River.

However, the launch of the long-term Spiller’s Wharf Heritage Photograph Project will be an important part of the opening day.

To kick it off, the organisers, Guy Spiller and Steve Mortinson, hope to mount a Heritage Festival display of what is hoped will be the first batch of interesting old photographs to be exhibited in the Spiller’s Wharf foyer or convention centre. For this reason they ask local people to submit either original photographs or scanned copies of photographs that tell the story of the South Coast.

The first submissions will be part of the inaugural display but it is hoped that, as more and more photographs come in, the organisers will be able to change the display regularly. To encourage people to support the project, there will be a prize for the best submission every month.

Steve and Guy, who will be in charge of awarding the prizes, will take into consideration a number of factors. They are looking for photographs that are historically important or simply photographs that tell an intriguing, perhaps obscure, story about the South Coast. They also welcome ‘mystery’ heritage photographs, so if you are unsure of the background, meaning or story behind an interesting old photograph you own, send it in and if it is displayed, someone might be able to come up with the answers.

The judges will also welcome modern photographs of interesting old artefacts relating to the South Coast, of lesser-known places of historical or cultural significance or of well-known historical landmarks. You would obviously stand a better chance of winning the monthly prize if your contemporary image has artistic merit or makes use of a fresh, new angle to portray a familiar structure, so use your imagination.

Throughout the four-day festival, live music, family entertainment and restaurant specials will highlight the fact that celebrating our wonderfully diverse South Coast heritage is all about having fun.

If you have an interesting photograph to submit or would like to know more about the project or the festival, telephone Steve at 083 7783040 or email Guy at guyspy@netactive.co.za.