Thousands of people flocked to Ficksburg in the Eastern Free State for the Cherry Jazz Festival. It is a curtain raiser for the annual Cherry Festival.
The small town of Ficksburg came alive this weekend as Jazz fans from all over the country, including neighbouring Lesotho rocked up. They were entertained by some of the big names.
Jazz legend Hugh Masekela says: “It would be great to have festivals at least every two weeks everywhere because people love music. I think it would make for less restlessness among people because they know they have something to look forward to. It could get a lot of people out of mischief.”
About 30 000 people are expected to attend the Cherry Festival from November 17 to November 19.
The idea for the first Cherry Festival took root in 1968 when a group of young men who had founded a Ficksburg chapter of Jaycee International, the international service/leadership development organisation, were looking for a project to launch their new organisation and perform a service to the community. Many ideas were thrown around, so it is difficult to say exactly how a Cherry Festival was arrived at.
What is sure, however, is that Ficksburg is the largest cherry producing area in South Africa, followed by its two neighbours - Clocolan and Fouriesburg - and to a lesser extent parts of the Ladybrand district. The Jaycees thus connected a Ficksburg product to a festival which would then promote the cherry industry and the town. Today Ficksburg is known throughout the country as the Cherry Town and the two have become synonymous with each other.
