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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - "Now this was a feel-good festival," said a couple who sat sipping their soup from special enamel cups while enjoying the exquisite view over the ocean at Santos Beach, where the hub of the Soul Festival simply buzzed this past weekend.
Good food, excellent wines, craft beer and boutique gin, barista-brewed coffees, treats from several stalls and a wide variety of entertainment were on offer at the first ever Soul Festival in Mossel Bay.
While organisers worked for several months to make the festival a reality, the fun started when executive mayor Alderman Harry Levendal lit the fire under the belly of the big Number 760 black pot - the largest black pot in the world - on Friday afternoon.
The weather played its part in the success of the Soul Festival. The balmy, warm sunshine on Friday changed to cold and wet early on Saturday morning, but soon the sun shone again, adding to a convivial atmosphere at the festival arena. Visitors came from as far afield as Riversdale to see the fire being stoked under the big black pot that was certainly a focus of the activities.
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The pot was used to prepare soup that was sold to festival goers, and the rest, enough for some 3 000 needy families, was donated to charity. By lunchtime on Saturday the soup, made of hundreds of kilograms of meat, vegetables and stock, was served. To boot, a lucky winner, Anita Jordaan, walked off with the smaller - much smaller! - red three-legged potjie that was raffled.
Sipping the fruit of their labour: the first cups of soup are served.
But it was not only about food and drink, although many people clearly enjoyed everything offered at the festival arena and the special offers of the 25-plus participating restaurants.
At Glentana more than 90 people participated in a free beach walk to the wreck while cleaning the beach as they went along.
Organisers were overwhelmed by the number of enthusiastic participants who braced the cold to do their bit for the environment - adding to the feel-good experience of the festival.
Participating restaurants report lively participation in the festival.
In the entertainment tent, big names in the entertainment industry mingled and shared the stage with local talent.
In the old power station at Santos, several authors and icons in the food industry kept the scores of listeners enthralled, and the aroma emanating from of the food demonstrations added to the ambiance.
The trendy music duo, Coffee Snobs, Vernette and Marius Wessels were popular performers.
Some festival goers were challenged to a hands-on experience when, after a snap course in making top class coffee, participants were pitted against each other in a competition that was won by Yolande van Dyk.
Brewmaster Ampie Kruger said he hopes this festival will grow even bigger and better next year and in the years to come, a sentiment many are sure to echo.
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