A festival that grows on you

Since 2017, succulent enthusiasts have assembled in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo for the town's annual succulent festival, which takes place over the third weekend of September. Platteland paid a visit to the eighth edition.

- JOHAN VAN ZYL

If you've never considered yourself a “festival person”, then the Vetplantfees at the old train station in Calitzdorp might just be the one that converts you. The festival, organised by the Calitzdorp Succulent Society, has grown exponentially each year, says its lively 83-year-old chairperson, Buck Hemenway. Yet it still feels small and manageable, with plenty of safe parking, too.

Entrance is free, and there are no long queues or crowds of people. None of the events on the programme overlapped, which meant we could attend all the practical workshops and talks by succulent experts such as Steven Molteno, Ernst van Jaarsveld and Sue Milton-Dean, as well as the other events.

These included the plant auction, where rare and sought-after plants were sold; the botanical art and prize-plant exhibition (this year's focus was on Gasterias); the plant market, where more than a dozen specialist growers sold only succulents they had cultivated themselves (nothing may be removed from the veld); and the Saturday evening dinner, catered for by the women of the NG Church, with guest speaker Dr Ernst van Jaarsveld. Visitors also had the chance to hop onto the back of a truck every day and take a walk up Jakkalskop with guide Kevin Koen to observe many species in their natural habitat.

This festival is a reminder of how something almost magical happens when a group of diverse strangers who share an obsession come together to swap and sell cuttings, and generously share their knowledge and advice.