Media Release. Mossel Bay Tourism. 2 September 2010.

Members of the Dias Festival Joint Organising Committee (JOC) - from left: Dias Museum Complex manager Mbulelo Mrubata, Festival coordinator Juanita Pienaar, and Dias Museum Management Committee chairman, Harold Miller.

Juanita Pienaar to Coordinate Dias Fest

Next year’s Dias Festival, which will be held in Mossel Bay from the 3rd to the 6th of February, will be coordinated by Juanita Pienaar.

Ms. Pienaar recently also coordinated the Summer Festival at Santos Beach, and the Kraak-i-Mossel Festival at The Point.

“Mossel Bay was the first point of contact between the European explorers and the indigenous people of South Africa, so it is a vitally important site in the history of our country,” said Mbulelo Mrubata, manager of the Dias Museum Complex, which will be the focus point of next year’s Festival.

He said that the South African Navy will once again be part of the event next year, and that it had agreed to send vessels, its band, and its mobile display and careers exhibition to Mossel Bay.

“The vessels will enter the Harbour on the 523rd anniversary of Dias’ landing at Mossel Bay,” he said.

“While the Museum will be the designated Festival Grounds, it’s important that the whole town and the whole community become involved in the Festival,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

“Over the next week, we’ll be circulating all the service clubs, sports clubs, schools, and similar organisations, and asking them to join in, and to put their events onto the programme.”

She said that the annual Vryburgers Marathon – which has been run every year since 1988 – would once again take place during the Festival, and that the Friends of the Dias Museum would be holding a concert of Operatic Arias in the Maritime Museum.

“The Maritime Museum has the most amazing acoustics, and is available for other, similar events, and, of course, the Museum Grounds will, as always, be made available to stall holders – and particularly to local crafters and artists,” said Ms. Holm.

“Because of its association with Bartolomeu Dias, we’ve decided to give the Festival a strong Portuguese theme, and we’ve been in contact with the Portuguese Embassy, and invited them to take part,” she said.  “Also, we’re encouraging the restaurants and shebeens to put on jazz shows, and we’ll be asking them to include Portuguese dishes in their menus for the duration.”

She said that the Mossel Bay Aero Club had shown interest, and that the schools, churches, and sports cubs would be encouraged to use their own venues for Festival events.

“In this way, we’ll spread the Festival through the entire community,” she said.

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Louma Jansen is currently compiling a list of organisations and event managers who will be taking part in the Dias Festival 2011: contact her on 044 691 2202 or info@visitmosselbay.co.za

As a result of decisions taken at this week’s JOC meeting, Ms. Pienaar will coordinate a committee that will include representatives of the Dias Museum’s Management Board, the Friends of the Dias, Museum, Mossel Bay Chamber of Commerce, Mossel Bay Tourism, the Municipality of Mossel Bay, etc. Contact her on 084 258 1713 or juanitapienaar@gmail.com.

ENDS 525 Words

Tags: bartholomew dias, bartolomeu dias, Dias, fest, festival, juanita pienaar, mossel bay, tourism