Strawberry Festival Garden Route

There is a full weekend of fun and activities, which centre around and showcase the icon of the festival, delicious | charming | fabulous strawberries.

Times: Friday 7pm - 11pm | Saturday 9am – 5pm | Sunday 9am – 4pm

Entrance Fee: Friday night opening gala R200 per person / Saturday R30 | Kids under age 12 R15 / Sunday R40 | Kids under age 12 R15

The festival has a full programme of lifestyle pursuits, which offer things to do for adults and children, as well as popular sports events. These activities include live local musicians throughout the weekend, a selection of good weekend food and farm products sold at some 55 stalls, strawberry and wine pairing workshops presented by Jakkalsvlei, and a beer tent with live Rugby World Cup matches. The opening night on Friday 25 September is limited to 500 tickets.

Sports events include the Redberry Farm 5km Family Fun Run and the 9km Trail Run through the strawberry fields with impressive views of the farm landscapes, mountain and dams, Moore Stephens Berry MTB Relay which uses a 5km loop track through the farm and the Moore Stephens George Toddler Dash, a race for 2 – 6 year old kids around the strawberry field. CrossFit George host the Fittest in the Garden Route competition which is a local inter-box competition for CrossFitters and is spectator friendly.

Not to be outdone, strawberries are centre stage in the new Strawberry Emporium where visitors can choose from a selection of their favourite strawberry treats at the Strawberry Table and visit the Choc Fountain and Strawberry Scoop. The Berry Bar offers a festoon of interesting strawberry cocktails, imported strawberry beers and ciders while the Berry Cooler has non-alcoholic strawberry drinks. Of course, visitors can purchase strawberry punnets, and for the first time, the punnets are stacked according to variety so that you can peruse the nuances of each type. Visitors are also encouraged to enter the Redberry Farm Strawberry Eating Competition.

Entrants must be over 16 years old and the winner will receive R1000 in cash for their efforts!

There’s a lot of fun in store for the kids. The large outdoor inflatable kids play park on the lawns will keep the children entertained and energised for hours. The play park has a fun range of inflatables and kiddies stalls with seating for mom and dad. Other children’s activities at the festival include bumper and paddle boats on the dam, water bubble ball, pony rides, miniature train rides and a wooden playground. Amusing Nestle Ice Cream kids strawberry and ice cream competitions are interspersed throughout the weekend. Moreover, make sure to get a photo with Scarlett, the impressive, giant strawberry mascot!

Other activities for the family include strawberry picking and the Redberry Farm hedge maze. Choose a picking container size and head off to the fields to select your own strawberries. The maze is the largest permanent hedge maze in the Southern Hemisphere... and if you find all seven stations hidden inside, you will have discovered the secrets of a strawberry!

The Nestle Ice Cream Strawberry Festival is scheduled over the long weekend in September so it’s a great time for visitors to have a quick get-away weekend. For more information and pre-purchase tickets view our website www.strawberryfestival.co.za.