East London - The idea of a Stoepsitfees, when it was first proposed to the residents of Rhodes in the Eastern Cape by the village’s patriarch, Dave Walker, seemed so off-the-wall and wacky that some gave it no chance of success.
Walker, the owner of a local hostel, nevertheless persevered and the idea gained traction. In fact, it was held last month.
But initially they had wondered: would the event attract visitors?
Local residents were encouraged when the applications started streaming in by telephone and e-mail from international visitors from Germany and Holland and, locally, from Howick in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands to Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape.
So, while the Rhodes homeowners polished their stoeps and their cooking techniques, Walkerbouts Country Inn bustled as “goodie bags” were prepared for an expected influx of visitors which, eventually, totalled 75 people.
Walker says: “Stoep-gossip and storytelling are as South African as biltong, braai and the Bokke. However, if you google ‘festivals in South Africa’ you will get more than 35 million responses and descriptions of festivals that celebrate everything from prickly pears to Witblits – but nothing that eulogises a centuries-old tradition.”
He said the general idea was that visitors come to Rhodes, having made their own arrangements for accommodation in the village that would suit their pockets, register and settle in. And from sunrise to sunset the following day, get into the “stoepsit” mode – stroll or cycle from veranda to veranda, buy something to eat and drink.
“It is a gentle way to discover what makes village life tick, why people choose Rhodes as the preferred refuge from the hurly-burly of city life, to reminisce, swap stories and to experience rural hospitality at its best. It also exposes visitors to the fact that, while villages like Rhodes may be isolated, they are also home to a vibrant artistic community.”
Villager Dudley Carstens proudly took up his post as “customs officer”. Suitably attired in a bandolier filled not with bullets but Underberg, an alcohol-based herbal palliative meant to provide both relief and comfort to those who have overindulged, he manned the customs post outside Rhodes at Earlstown farm.
He directed participants to the customs office, a cottage belonging to Bernard and Bernadette Reynecke which overlooks the Bell River. There they were welcomed with bakoond brood and home-made jams and cheeses.
Duly registered and with stamped passports in hand, Stoepsitfeesters made their way to their accommodation, where they studied the “stoep maps” so that they could plan the route to their chosen stops the following day. Business for village crafters boomed.
Violetta Abroue’s hand-painted and handmade clothes sold like hotcakes, while the Clay Café potter, Irene Walker, got her sawdust-firing kiln up to the right temperature and it smoked like a Garret steam engine on a steep incline.
All the while visitors meandered from stoep to stoep, finding on offer not only tall tales, but tea, coffee, gingerbeer and beer to slake their thirst and treats such as koek en konfyt, koeksisters and cheese platters at the Earlstown cheesery.
And, interspersed between tea and tequila, there was a good amount of knitting, a distinct stoepsitting pastime. The wool, knitting needles, pattern and rulers were in the goodie bags. The stoepsitfeesters, including some of the men, knitted away to produce squares that were combined to make a blanket, if not two.
By nightfall, stuffed from the array of delicacies, most retired for an early evening while others headed to the Thankshjalot Pub at Walkerbouts Inn, for a final tipple.
It turns out that the German visitors heard about the event while in Mozambique and continued the trip from there all the way to Rhodes. They were particularly fascinated by the Rhodes Public School stoep, which included traditional dancing. There was a couple from Holland who had stayed at Kinmel Guest farm last year and made their visit this year coincide with the Stoepsitfees.
After the fees Walker discovered, courtesy of Google, that in the US they have a Porch Sitters Union, which celebrates similar experiences so enjoyed in Rhodes.
“If there is enough interest we can set up a local Stoepsitfees Association and an affiliation with our American counterparts,” he says.
Next year’s event will be held from February 12 to 15.
l For more information contact Dave Walker on 045 974 9290 or e-mail dave@walkerbouts.co.za - Weekend Argus