KNYSNA NEWS - A Wall of Remembrance to honour the people who lost their lives in the Knysna Fires of 2017 will be unveiled during the Knysna Timber Festival this weekend. It also honours people who lost their homes, livelihoods, or possessions in the fires, as well as the firefighters, emergency teams, fire management units, donors and volunteers who helped fight the fires, and who brought relief to the people of the region during and after the tragedy.
The organisers have invited Knysna Mayor Mark Willemse as guest of honour.
This year's festival will place particular emphasis on young people, with fun activities for little ones, information and career guidance for teenagers, and talks by a number of young adults.
The Knysna Timber Initiative, which owns and runs the festival, is keen to encourage young people to pursue careers in the timber value chain in the region which includes sectors as diverse as plantation forestry, conservation, engineering, carpentry, joinery, and business. Representatives from the Nelson Mandela University's George campus and the South Cape TVET College will be on hand to share information about courses on offer in the Garden Route.
For the youth
Scheduled tours of Knysna's timber factories and sawmills will showcase the process of turning raw logs into finished products, and will highlight the various career paths available. To introduce very young children to the fun and possibilities of working with wood, there will be a kids' tent and activity area where they will be shown how to build small items like coasters or wooden planter boxes, and how to paint and seal them.
The festival will include exhibitions and demonstrations by suppliers, crafters, self-help groups, and NGOs, as well as a static display on Sunday morning of Knysna's firefighting and rescue equipment - while the spirit of the festival will overflow at the food court, with lawn games featuring oversized wooden toys - Jenga, anyone?
Friday afternoon will see the Robin Hood & Forest Fairy Pageant organised by Ace Models.
The festival will take place at Timber Village on Welbedacht Lane from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 October. The Wall of Remembrance will be unveiled on Saturday at 10:00, and the speaker programme will run on Saturday and Sunday. Please see www.timberfestival.co.za for details.
Entrance to the festival village is R20 to cover the costs of security, cleaning, etc., but there is no charge if you just attend the unveiling of the Wall of Remembrance.
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