Prince Albert Olive Festival

Get ready for a weekend of indulgence and fine festivities at this family-friendly fair

The folks in the little Karoo town of Prince Albert are pulling out all the stops for their annual Olive Festival, a celebration of food, wine, music and crafts that’s set to take place from Friday, 25 to Sunday, 27 April 2014.

The weekend-long fiesta is designed to attract visitors to this charming Western Cape community (it lies approximately 400km from Cape Town) in order to create temporary jobs and bring in some extra cash to the tiny town. And with award-winning cheeses, plump olives, fine figs and gorgeous reds and whites on offer, it’s going to be all too easy to lighten those wallets.

This year the festival folk have teamed up with The Showroom theatre, Lah-Di-Dah fancy farm stall and the Swartberg Hotel to up the ante on the already fabulous fair. Along with the delicious local foods, visitors will be served up a hearty helping of live entertainment at The Showroom, where the likes of Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist and South African duo Marcato (performing a Simon and Garfunkel show on one night and a combination of original Afrikaans and popular English songs on another) are set to amuse and delight.  

As always, each day of the festival will be jam-packed with exciting things to do with options like guided nature walks, star gazing, tastings and tours at farms in the surrounding area, strolls through the Weltevrede Valley labyrinth and much, much more. The little ones will be kept busy too with a host of kids’ activities, like tombola stalls, a crazy climbing wall, stalk walkers and face painting.

What’s more, Prince Albert will be laden with street food stalls selling the most delectable items, from biltong and preserves to boerie rolls and bistro fare (Prince Albert was awarded the prize for Best Food Stall at KKNK 2013, so you know the culinary side is going to be good).  And instead of a beer tent, there will be a wine tent stocked up with vinos from the region for patrons to taste and purchase. After filling their bellies, festival-goers can lazily browse the craft market vending everything from woodwork and pottery to metalwork and jewellery. So, round up the gang and take a trip to the Karoo for fantastically good time for young and old.

TICKETS FOR THE 2014 PRINCE ALBERT OLIVE FESTIVAL

Entry to the festival is free, but certain events will be charged separately and tickets will have to be bought for these.

The festival runs from 2pm on Friday to noon on Sunday.  

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For quirky, cool crash course on the mysterious Karoo, try the Forgotten Route tour to Matjiesfontein with boutique tour operators Wine Flies. Also, have a look at our overview of annual April events to find out about more hot happenings taking place during the month.

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