2021 Knysna Oyster Festival moves dates

NEW DATES FOR THE 2021 KNYSNA OYSTER FESTIVAL’S ‘STAY, WORK, PLAY’ EVENT

Due to the recent announcement of the new school term dates by the National Department of Education, the Knysna Oyster Festival (KOF) executive committee have announced a change in the dates of this year’s hybrid festival: these new dates now being 9 to 18 July 2021.

The Knysna Forest Marathon and Houtkapper Trail runs will remain on the weekend of 10 and 11 July whilst the Knysna Cycle Races have moved to two weekend’s later than the original dates, namely to 17 and 18 July. Entrants to these events will hear directly from the event organizers with regards to their means of participation as they unpack these in their planning. Those that have entered are encouraged to keep their accommodation reservations, while ensuring that the new relevant dates are taken into consideration.

“This year will be different: due to the ongoing pandemic, we do not expect to see the big numbers of participants, as in past years, in the main sporting events of cycling or running. However, we would still like to see a large number of visitors. So, the message is ‘stay, work, play for the full 10 days – or longer’ in the greater Knysna area”, said Festival Co-ordinator, Andrew Finn.

“The focus of this year’s Knysna Oyster Festival, which will be a hybrid (actual and virtual) event, is on encouraging visitors and holiday makers to discover that there is so much more than just the estuary, our magnificent beaches and indigenous forests, whilst promoting existing local businesses and what they offer – supporting local”, added General Manager of Visit Knysna, Colleen Durant.

“During April, we anticipate rolling out the full calendar of event offerings to the public, nearly 3 months ahead of the actual festival dates. This gives visitors plenty of time to make their accommodation reservations, identify what activities appeal to them and even book all these in advance as. Due to the ongoing pandemic and the fact that we could be at any level of lockdown, all planning and preparation is towards niche activities and limited numbers at a time and venue, taking all protocols for ‘safe travels’ into consideration.”

Knysna Municipality’s Executive Mayor, Cllr. Elrick van Aswegen remarked as follows: “In the past couple of years, our destination has been hampered by a number of ‘natural disasters’, this latest, the Coronavirus, impacting travel and tourism throughout the world. But as the pandemic unfolds, so we learn to evolve. The Knysna Oyster Festival epitomizes incredibly well the same resilience that our local people do: always at the forefront of the evolution. Come July, no matter what the circumstances will be in relation to the virus in our country, we don’t doubt that your 10 day stay in Knysna for a unique Knysna Oyster Festival 2021 experience will be worth the visit.”

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For more information:

Andrew Finn – Knysna Oyster Festival Co-ordinator (082 556 4604)