 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ficksburg The Cherry Capital | |
 |
Situated in the scenic panorama of the Eastern Free State, along the Highlands Route, Ficksburg nestles between the foot of the Imperani Mountain and the banks of the Caledon River, the border with Lesotho. There are magnificent views of the majestic Malutis as a backdrop, which change with the seasons, from the purple haze of summer to the snow clad slopes in winter. Ficksburg was founded on 12 June 1868 and named after General Jan Fick, Commander-General of the old Orange Free State Republic. General Fick’s aim was to protect the border between the then Basotholand and the Orange Free State. The government encouraged settlers by offering them land, horses, guns and ammunition in return for settling along the border of the new territory. This discouraged the Basotho from crossing the border, burning farms and stealing cattle. www.golesotho.co.za Today the town is the gateway to Lesotho and the Katse Dam and boasts a large cosmopolitan population. Ficksburg’s economy is based chiefly on mixed agriculture, concentrating mainly on asparagus, cherries and deciduous fruit. Other crops are farmed on a smaller scale. At present there is renewed attention being payed to apples, with more farmers than ever planting apple trees. The district is renowned for the breathtaking sandstone formations of the mountains here and many of the older buildings in and around the town were built of sandstone. Interestingly, the Union Buildings in Pretoria are built from sandstone quarried in the surrounding area. Gumtree, the small settlement just outside Ficksburg, has the tallest sandstone structure in the world—an old mill which is sadly no longer in use. Although the number of craftsmen who are able to work in sandstone is dwindling rapidly, there remain a few people who still practise this unique craft. The Cherry Festival is the oldest crop fesival in South Africa and has been held annually during the third week in November. For more information on Ficksburg www.goficksburg.co.za |
| The history of cherries in South Africa and the festival | |
 |
Cherries have pleased the palates of food lovers for centuries. Their ruby-red colour and sweet taste won cherries a noble place on the tables of Roman conquerors, Greek citizens, and Chinese noblemen. German missionaries brought cherries to South Africa by ship with early settlers in the 1900’s. The first successful cherry trees were planted in South Africa in 1905 on the farm Platkop in the Clocolan district after Harry Pickston had contacted German missionaries in South Africa with questions about growing cherries. A year later five hectares of trees were brought to Clocolan to be planted on the farm. The varieties included Giant Heidelfinger, Bing, Early River, Early Red, and Elton. Some of the original cherry trees can still be seen on the farm today. These cultivars are still grown in the area. It is estimated that there are 500 hectares of cherry trees in the Eastern Free State concentrated mainly in the Ficksburg, Clocolan and Fouriesburg area. There are approximately 250 trees per hectare and the average yield per hectare is 10 tons. Maraschino cherries, most often used in drinks and in ice cream sundaes, are made from sweet cherries. The maraschino cherry originated in Yugoslavia and northern Italy where merchants added a liqueur to a local cherry called the “Marasca.” The first Cherry Festival was held in Ficksburg in 1968, launched by the local Jaycees with a street parade through town, a Cherry Ball and the crowning of a Cherry Queen. The Festival has grown over the years into an event during which more than 24 000 people visit the festival. The festival is beneficial to Ficksburg because it creates employment and is the town’s largest marketing tool. The committee responsible for organising the event consists of 15 members who do all the work on a voluntary basis . Ficksburg is situated in the heart of the Eastern Free State and boasts a cosmopolitan population. For more information on Ficksburg www.goficksburg.co.za |
| How the festival started in 1968 | |
 |
The idea for the first Cherry Festival took root in 1968 when a group of young men who had founded a Ficksburg chapter of Jaycee International, the international service/leadership development organisation, were looking for a project to launch their new organisation and perform a service to the community. Many ideas were thrown around, so it is difficult to say exactly how a Cherry Festival was arrived at!!! What is sure, however, is that Ficksburg is the largest cherry producing area in South Africa, followed by its two neighbours, Clocolan and Fouriesburg, and to a lesser extent parts of the Ladybrand district. The Jaycees thus connected a Ficksburg product to a festival which would then promote the cherry industry and the town. Today Ficksburg is known throughout the country as the Cherry Town, and the two have become synonymous with each other. Through the years the Cherry Festival has grown in stature, and has become one of the ‘events’ in South Africa, with thousands of visitors visiting the Eastern Free State during cherry time. Special bus tours have become very popular, and Ficksburg has become a ‘must’ for tour operators. The first Cherry Carnival, as it was then known, was a very amateurish presentation consisting a film-show at which the Cherry Queen was chosen, followed the next day by a street procession of floats, drum-majorettes, etc, and an open-air Programmeme at which not very much happened. The grand Cherry Ball was, however, a great success. Today the presentation is very professional and slick and the whole Programmeme caters for a wide variety of tastes. To the best of our knowledge the Cherry Festival it is the oldest crop festival in South Africa. The Jaycees ran the festival from 1968 to 1985. After Jaycees disbanded in 1985, a community committee took over the organising and running of the festival. This committee is made up each year out of representatives of various sections of the community,who do all the hard work on a voluntary basis. For more information on Ficksburg www.goficksburg.co.za |
|
|
|
