GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — On Friday, October 20, St James' Anglican Church will once again be hosting their annual eye-popping Spring Flower Festival.

Each year this church, as well as its hall and grounds in Somerset Street, is transformed into a family-friendly exhibition that showcases the delicate blooms from the gardens of Graaff-Reinet.

This festival has been a staple on Graaff-Reinet's events calendar for the past 50 years - having never once skipped a year since its inception so many years ago.

The event was the brainchild of Eileen Wits-Hewitson. Amazed at the beautiful array of roses in the local gardens, she thought to showcase it in a yearly spectacular where flora fans could get the opportunity to see and smell these fragile flowers in beautiful and lovingly crafted displays.

The first ever festival was themed, 'The beauty of the rose'. Since then, some years became thematic while other years' displays were highly sophisticated.

The dry weather conditions which have prevailed these past couple of years have led the organisers to move away from a 'rose only' festival, to a festival celebrating the kaleidoscopic wonders of all the flowers found in the region.

This year, the festival will be held from 10:00 to 18:00 with lunch being served from 12:00. Tea and scones will be available to enjoy throughout the day.

Floral contributions to the festival will gratefully be accepted from09:00 on Thursday, October 19. All Graaff-Reinetters with a love for flowers who would like to share their garden's abundance with other locals are invited to contribute an arrangement.

Anyone requiring more information can contact Val Loock at 049 891 0585.

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