Towards the latter part of 2024, BR&RA came up with the idea to hold an annual fundraising event. Initially the idea was to raise some funds in order to help our village monument, the big pineapple to restore its original state, for which some repairs were necessary.
Thea Venter agreed to take over the leadership of this event and,
with the help of some volunteers, the idea of a Pineapple Music Fest was born. With the vision of including all inhabitants of Bathurst and showcasing various music talents, but with a zero budget, preparations began. The location for this event was the Summerhill farm next to the big Pineapple.
Advertising started by inviting artists, music bands as well as food vendors and stall holders. The managers of Summerhill Inn had visions of attracting sponsorships from companies like the breweries, car dealerships as well as other large companies. Volunteers voiced their ideas of entertainment for kids while the parents were enjoying the music. The Ndlambe FM radio station was part of the organisation and offered various airing of interviews with the talents and artists as well as covering the event.
Volunteers were put to action and the word went out to Bathurst village as well as Nolukhanyo. Some setbacks were encountered, especially when the Summerhill Inn managers announced shortly before the big date that they were leaving to be off to new ventures of their own.
Last minute letters of our own to possible sponsors proved to be too little too late, but the enthusiasm of various young entertainers from Nolukhanyo was heartwarming. The new managers of Summerhill at least could organize the brewery to supply fridges, tables with umbrellas and benches which made the premises look very festive indeed.
And so, the Pineapple music fest started looking good with the various entertainment from the youngsters: 1 Ballroom dance 2: Amapiano 3: Grove Academy dancers 4: Gumboot dance 5: Traditional dance 6: Amaqhakancu as well as musicians like Sive, Popzit and Mpunays. Then there was Anthony Caplan with his beautiful songs, various bands playing und culminating with The Suvivals and finishing off with the Undead Generation band. Dave Brunett was vital to the entertainment with his sound system, co-ordinating the various acts. Music and songs were enjoyed by some late into the night.
Sunday’s program consisted of laid-back music and 2 interesting talks involving the pineapple industry. Unfortunately, no visitors supported the talks. We also feel it was a pity that we were not able to manage 1 single pineapple to be sponsored to our event, thus making it more of a non-pineapple Music Fest.
However, we decided that next year will be better, bigger and certainly a huge success!