Bronwen Roberts
FARMERS in the Somerset East area are desperately=20 trying to get about 8 000kg of biltong ready for the=20 town’s Biltong Festival next weekend — but will this=20 be enough?
Front page headlines in the local newspaper have for=20 weeks asked: “Sal daar genoeg droewors wees vir die=20 fees? (Will be there be enough biltong for the=20
Still fresh in everyone’s minds is that the roughly 8=20 000 visitors who flocked to the town for last year’s=20 two-day festival had gobbled up all the biltong half=20 way through the second day. But organiser Colonel Joe=20 Momberg today said there would be about 25 stalls this=20 year — twice as many as last year — offering beef,=20 kudu, rooibok and springbok biltong. Momberg said:=20 “There should be enough but we can’t promise anything.=20 Farmers can only shoot so much and they are trying=20 their best.” — Ecna
He said sosaties, vennison, droewors and other meat=20 products would also be on offer and there was a chance=20 that the Biltong King of the region would be chosen –=20 if the right judges could be found.
He said a packed entertainment menu was also on offer=20 with Bles Bridges and Clive Bruce performing “for the=20
“Boerseun Brits, the Eastern Cape strong man” and=20 Gerrit Badenhorst, “officially South Africa’s strongest=20 man”, would also flex their muscles for the crowd=20 presumable to show what red meat can do for you.
Momberg said the festival costs were covered by a=20 Transitional Local Council budget and although=20 thousands of visitors attended every year, it had never=20 made a profit.
“We don’t want to make a profit. Smaller towns just=20 need to get themselves on the map in order to survive=20 and attract tourists.”=20
He said some visitors would travel to Somerset East on=20 a train from Port Elizabeth that would be at the=20 station throughout the festival. Others would be=20 accommodated in school boarding hostels and hotels. -=20