Collaborations with Handspring Puppet Company and the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Humanities Research have spurred Net Vir Pret’s success, but its driving engine is a network of dedicated local arts and culture activists.
On a recent visit to Barrydale, I had the opportunity to learn about the Magpie Art Collective, which was established by Scott Hart and the late Shane Petzer in 1998 — and continues to “reimagine the mundane”, “crafting beauty from waste”. Magpie’s studio and gallery space in Barrydale is a wonderland of colour and light, displaying quirky pieces that have been made from recycled or repurposed materials but appeal to buyers with an upwardly mobile sense of interior design. Like many Barrydale initiatives, it thus has both a “business” face (presented to city-slicker visitors who spend a few hours or a few days in town) and a community-orientated identity that seeks to improve the town’s human and natural environments.
The arts scene here is at its most intensive in December. In addition to the parade, there are exhibitions, plays, concerts, talks, screenings, and, just out of town, the Under Karoovian Skies music fest at Karoo Saloon. But Barrydale is an active arts hub throughout the year.
I stayed at the Karoo Art Hotel, which runs its own programme of live music, author readings and artist workshops, and boasts an impressive visual arts collection. One of the prestigious Cape Country Routes hospitality properties, the hotel’s comfort and conviviality is almost a disincentive to head out and explore the rest of Barrydale. Still, that would be a mistake.
Down the road, just past the Magpie premises, there’s the House of Books. You’re not guaranteed to find owner Anton de Villiers “at home”, but it’s worth persevering; this is one of those joyful pilgrimages for true bibliophiles. There are books in what used to be the kitchen and what used to be the bathroom, books piled floor-to-ceiling in every imaginable corner of the building.
A short walk uphill to the main road brings assorted culinary and bric-a-brac delights. There’s coffee shop Karoo Daisy, where the art of the mural and the tromp-l’oeil effect are on full display. There’s Papa Joe’s Collectibles, which is not so much an antique store as a museum of curiosities — you will spend hours going down historical rabbit holes if you’re not careful. There’s Barrydale Hand Weavers, another good news story about skills development, job creation and high-quality SA merchandise.
Barrydale hosts plenty of day-trippers and thirsty travellers making a stop along the R62. They are likely to tell you that their destination is Diesel & Crème, a diner known far and wide for its throwback décor and its milkshakes. I can report that these decadent meals-in-a-glass more than live up to the hype.
On my last night in town, I was reminded that the right kind of small-town hospitality is extended not just to well-heeled visitors but, more importantly, to the local community. At the Barrydale Karoo Lodge, they were serving free soup — “just to create a nice gees”, as our waiter told us. And gees, I agreed, is one thing that Barrydale has in bucketloads.
• The Barrydale Arts Festival runs from December 13-21.
This column originally appearedin Business Day.
CHRIS THURMAN: Revel in the abundant gees in Barrydale
The theme for the 2024 arts festival is ‘Walking Tall’, an apt description of the giant puppet parade
Image: Supplied
KeDezemba! Most South Africans may feel like we’re staggering to the finish line. But not in Barrydale. In this small Karoo town, they are gearing up for carnival: the Barrydale Arts Festival starts next weekend.
The big attraction is the annual Net Vir Pret puppet parade, which takes place on December 14 this year. Directed by Sudonia Kouter and featuring the remarkable work of the Ukwanda Puppet Company, the parade will start at the Karoo Art Hotel and finish at the Barrydale sports grounds. The 2024 theme, “Walking Tall”, describes not only what the giant puppets will be doing but also, of course, Net Vir Pret’s vision for the youth of Barrydale.
While its name emphasises the playful side of creative expression, the organisation is not “just for fun” — since its launch in 2006, Net Vir Pret has made a profound socioeconomic intervention. Started by Peter Takelo and Ann Harries, Net Vir Pret offers a series of arts-orientated programmes for young people from marginalised communities.
CHRIS THURMAN: David Kramer revives versatile, pitch perfect Orpheus McAdoo
Collaborations with Handspring Puppet Company and the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Humanities Research have spurred Net Vir Pret’s success, but its driving engine is a network of dedicated local arts and culture activists.
On a recent visit to Barrydale, I had the opportunity to learn about the Magpie Art Collective, which was established by Scott Hart and the late Shane Petzer in 1998 — and continues to “reimagine the mundane”, “crafting beauty from waste”. Magpie’s studio and gallery space in Barrydale is a wonderland of colour and light, displaying quirky pieces that have been made from recycled or repurposed materials but appeal to buyers with an upwardly mobile sense of interior design. Like many Barrydale initiatives, it thus has both a “business” face (presented to city-slicker visitors who spend a few hours or a few days in town) and a community-orientated identity that seeks to improve the town’s human and natural environments.
The arts scene here is at its most intensive in December. In addition to the parade, there are exhibitions, plays, concerts, talks, screenings, and, just out of town, the Under Karoovian Skies music fest at Karoo Saloon. But Barrydale is an active arts hub throughout the year.
I stayed at the Karoo Art Hotel, which runs its own programme of live music, author readings and artist workshops, and boasts an impressive visual arts collection. One of the prestigious Cape Country Routes hospitality properties, the hotel’s comfort and conviviality is almost a disincentive to head out and explore the rest of Barrydale. Still, that would be a mistake.
Down the road, just past the Magpie premises, there’s the House of Books. You’re not guaranteed to find owner Anton de Villiers “at home”, but it’s worth persevering; this is one of those joyful pilgrimages for true bibliophiles. There are books in what used to be the kitchen and what used to be the bathroom, books piled floor-to-ceiling in every imaginable corner of the building.
A short walk uphill to the main road brings assorted culinary and bric-a-brac delights. There’s coffee shop Karoo Daisy, where the art of the mural and the tromp-l’oeil effect are on full display. There’s Papa Joe’s Collectibles, which is not so much an antique store as a museum of curiosities — you will spend hours going down historical rabbit holes if you’re not careful. There’s Barrydale Hand Weavers, another good news story about skills development, job creation and high-quality SA merchandise.
Barrydale hosts plenty of day-trippers and thirsty travellers making a stop along the R62. They are likely to tell you that their destination is Diesel & Crème, a diner known far and wide for its throwback décor and its milkshakes. I can report that these decadent meals-in-a-glass more than live up to the hype.
On my last night in town, I was reminded that the right kind of small-town hospitality is extended not just to well-heeled visitors but, more importantly, to the local community. At the Barrydale Karoo Lodge, they were serving free soup — “just to create a nice gees”, as our waiter told us. And gees, I agreed, is one thing that Barrydale has in bucketloads.
• The Barrydale Arts Festival runs from December 13-21.
This column originally appearedin Business Day.
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