HISTORY OF THE KNYSNA OYSTER FESTIVAL
The Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival is essentially a celebration of sport and the good life and has established itself as one of the most popular annual events in the Western Cape.
The first Oyster Festival took place in 1983 and was the brainchild of the late Dick Ginsberg, a local businessman. He and Rose Smith from the then Knysna Publicity Office organised the Knysna Winter Festival, which featured a marathon, rugby, golf, squash, and bowls. The purpose of the festival was to attract people to Knysna during the quiet winter period.
The Navy was involved almost from the start and in 1984 the Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral A P Putter visited Knysna together with a navy minesweeper and a number of crew. In 1988 the Freedom of Entry into the municipality of Knysna was conferred on the Navy.
This year, the 25th anniversary of the first Knysna Oyster Festival, will see a visit by the Navy, headed by the Chief Director of Maritime Strategy Rear Admiral B Teuteberg, and a fleet of two minesweepers, which will tie up at the Thesen Island Jetty.
In 1985 the cycling races added more sporting events to the programme. Today it is every runner’s dream to complete the famous Pick n Pay Cape Times Forest Marathon or Half Marathon, while the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Cycle Tour has grown to be a two-day cycling festival of mountain and road bike events, the biggest of its kind in South Africa.
Oysters are, of course, a huge component of the festival and the Knysna Oyster Company, which opened in Knysna in 1949, has been involved in the festival for many years as a major participant and generous sponsor.
Other traditional favourites of the festival include the Oyster Mardi Gras (previously the Oyster Cooking Competition), the Oyster Eating Competition, the Waitron Race and the Bowls Tournament
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