Workshop- Succulent Bonsai for Beginners

Date: Time: - SUCCULENT BONSAI This one-hour workshop is designed to initiate interest in making bonsai art of their succulent plants. The program will cover selection of plant material, preparation for manipulation and design features for bonsai results. The subjects will be covered in such a manner that anyone can come away with an understanding of how to prepare and maintain the plants for beautiful long lasting. YVONNE HEMENWAY Yvonne Hemenway is a life long grower of plants. For the past 30 years, she has been involved with growing succulent plants. She was co-owner of the Prickly Palace nursery in California and has recently moved to Calitzdorp where her passion for growing plants continues. She is a committee member and a founder of the Calitzdorp Succulent Society and is very active organizing Vetplantfees. . VENUE 10 Geyser Street Calitzdorp, Western Cape, South Africa AVAILABLE DATES 19 September 2021 @ 14:00 DURATION Workshop duration 90 minutes/1.5 hours. COST R50 per person BOOKING/REGISTRATION Spaces are limited to 20 persons per workshop and advance booking is essential. Book Now  

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Veld Walks – Vetplantfees – 2021

Date: Time: - Trained Cape Nature guides will escort small groups of enthusiasts on a 90-minute walk to Calitzdorp’s famous Jakkalskop where dozens of succulent plant varieties will be in flower. It is an experience not to be missed and have proven to be very popular with festivalgoers. DATES & TIMES Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 18 Sept 2021 – 09:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 18 Sept 2021 – 11:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 18 Sept 2021 – 13:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 18 Sept 2021 – 15:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 18 Sept 2021 – 17:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 19 Sept 2021 – 09:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 19 Sept 2021 – 11:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 19 Sept 2021 – 13:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 19 Sept 2021 – 15:00 - Book Vetplantfees – Veld Walk – 19 Sept 2021 – 17:00 - Book BOOKING & PAYMENT Booking and payment are essential as only 8 persons will be accommodated on each of the scheduled walks. The fee to join each walk is R150, payable in advance and non-refundable on cancellation. Book Now WHERE TO MEET Each walk will depart daily at the appointed time from the main festival paypoint at 10 Geyser Street, Calitzdorp. IMPORTANT Participants should wear shoes suitable for walking in the veld and bring water, a hat and sun protection.

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Saturday Night Banquet & Talk

Date: Time: - SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUET & TALK This is a “must attend” event during the Calitzdorp Succulent Festival. You will have the chance to meet and mix with succulent experts from all over South Africa, enjoy a wonderful dinner and enjoy a talk by Adam Harrower, Senior Horticulturist and Succulent Collection Curator at Kirstenbosch Gardens on “The Miniature World of the Knersvlakte”. EVENING SCHEDULE 18:00 Arrive and Socialise. 18:30 Dinner Served. 19:30 Explore the fascinating world of miniature succulent plants that inhabit the harsh habitat of the Knersvlakte. Join Adam Harrower in this wonderland of succulent plants. 20:30 Dessert & Coffee DINNER MENU DINNER MENU (MEAT) DINNER MENU (VEGETARIAN) Starter Fresh Garden Pea and Mint Soup Main Course Osso Buco with Gremolata Bobotie Phyllo Cups Starter Fresh Garden Pea and Mint Soup Main Course Aubergine Cannelloni Lentil Bobotie Phyllo Cups VENUE Calitzdorp, Western Cape, South Africa DATE & TIME Saturday, 19 September 2021 from 18:00 onwards. COST R300 per person. Includes a salad course, main course and dessert, with wine from local wineries. Remember to select your option of Meat or Vegetarian when booking. BOOKING/REGISTRATION Seats are limited and booking is essential. Book Now

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Expert Talk: Dr. Ernst van Jaarsveld – Exploring South African Succulents

Date: Time: - Exploring South African Succulents Expert Talk – Dr. Ernst van Jaarsveld Sunday 22 September – 13:00     This is a free event. No booking required. Dr. Ernst van Jaarsveld has been interested in succulents since a young boy collecting and growing succulent plants. He has authored or co-authored more than one hundred succulent plant species. He is especially interested in the classification Gasteria and Aloe and other monocotyledonous succulents. His other interests include the Mesembryanthemaceae and Crassulaceae. He is a keen explorer regularly traveling to remote parts of South Africa, Angola and Namibia. Some of the expeditions include rubber canoe expeditions investigating remote river valleys. Ernst also regularly travels abroad and lectures on succulent plants. Ernst was a horticulturist at Kirstenbosch for more than 40 years. He built and curated the Botanical Society Conservatory. He was appointed extraordinary senior lecturer at the University of the Western Cape in 2012. He is the author of more than two hundred articles (popular, semi-scientific and scientific) and several books. He is a keen explorer and for his latest study (cliff dwelling succulent plants), has visited cliff habitats throughout southern Africa. Ernst has been at Babylonstoren since 2015 where he continues to build display gardens, green houses and educate the public about botanical things. His talk will be general in nature, covering the succulent plants that all Vetplantfees attendees love.

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Expert Talk: Florent Grenier – Book Launch – Secrets of Namaqualand Succulents

Date: Time: - Book Launch - Secrets of Namaqualand Succulents Expert Talk – Florent Grenier Sunday 22 September – 11:00     This is a free event. No booking required. Passionate about plants since a young age, Florent Grenier is a French specialist of Namaqualand succulents. Twenty months of scientific fieldwork and naturalist exploration have accumulated since Florent’s first trip to SA at the tender age of 16, in 2008. Listen and see a show describing the English edition of Florent Grenier’s Namaqualand Book, forwarded by world-renowned Mesemb specialist Steven Hammer. The book is a blend of superb photography and natural history, featuring 710 succulent and geophytic species via 1126 pictures. The text addresses the plants’ compelling strategies for survival and reproduction in their natural habitat, in an accessible tone. Buy his book during the festival with the author’s signature.

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Expert Talk: Mike Spies – Exploring Namaqualand For Succulents

Date: Time: - Exploring Namaqualand For Succulents Expert Talk – Mike Spies Saturday 21 September – 13:00     This is a free event. No booking required. Mike Spies is the owner and tour guide of Namaqua Tours. Growing up in the industry he just grew to love the outdoors and nature in various settings and ways. He already knew in high-school that he would like to follow in his father’s footsteps. He is a nature enthusiast and loves to travel. Currently third generation in their family owned business, he has been touring Namaqualand every season for the last 13 years. His favourite pass-time is to take is hat and his Jack Russell and explore the hidden gems of the Knersvlakte. He doesn’t see himself as a plant expert, but rather a plant lover. He has an unmatched passion for Namaqualand, the rest of South-Africa, Namibia & Botswana.

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Expert Talk: Louis Jordaan – Exploring Nature – Looking with New Eyes

Date: Time: - Louis Jordaan - Exploring Nature - Looking with New Eyes Expert Talk – Louis Jordaan Saturday 21 September – 11:00   This is a free event. No booking required. To the uninformed nature is a closed book and even those familiar with the natural environment often encounter unknown areas or aspects which they would like to learn more about. Indeed, each plant, animal and object, although seemingly insignificant, is a treasure chest of secrets and ‘stories’ waiting to be explored. During this presentation, an interpretative virtual nature tour, many such secrets are unveiled and ‘stories’ concerning a variety of creatures of nature are told. At the same time, the audience is awakened to the rich diversity of life around us, as well as our responsibility to cherish this wonderful inheritance. Louis Jordaan is a nature guide and environmental educator. He is an interpreter, a ‘storyteller’, unveiling a wealth of ‘stories’ (facts, interpretations, explanations, uses, superstitions, etc.) of plants and other creatures and objects of nature. Louis also provides nature lovers with knowledge and skills which allow them to discover and unravel secrets and mysteries that may require a more expert and trained ‘eye’ – he guides people to observe with all their senses, and to understand what they have discovered. As Fiona McIntosh puts it, “This man brings the veld to life..."* *Fiona McIntosh; Southbound Guide to South Africa's World Heritage Sites: Cape Floral Region Protected Areas; 30° South Publishers; Johannesburg; 2006.

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Swartkop Succulent Hike

Date: Time: - This truly unique opportunity is ideally suited for the serious succulent enthusiast. Swartkop is characterised by quartzitic sandstone patches and spekboom thickets, its a succulent lovers paradise. The trail can be a bit technical because of the many loose pebbles on the trail, but this habitat hosts many succulents of special interest that’s absent from other similar areas. Succulents of special interest along the route include crassula tomentosa, hoodia pilifera, fockea capensis and the rare eriospermum crispum. PLACE, DATES & TIMES Calitzdorp, Tuesday – 24 September 2019 – 07:00 DISTANCE, DURATION & FITNESS LEVEL The hike is about 6.5km and is estimated to take about 6 hours to complete. The trail can be a bit technical because of the many loose pebbles on the trail. WHERE TO MEET This hike will depart from Karooboom on R62 about halfway between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn at the appointed time. BOOKING & PAYMENT Booking and payment are essential as only 8 persons will be accommodated on this hike. The fee to join is R350 and includes a light lunch. The full amount is payable in advance and non-refundable on cancellation. Book Now   IMPORTANT Participants should wear shoes suitable for walking in the veld and bring water, a hat and sun protection.

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Rietvalley Succulent Hike

Date: Time: - This truly unique opportunity is ideally suited for the serious succulent enthusiast. Rietvalley is part of a 40 000 ha protected wilderness area just south of Calitzdorp. It forms part of a UNESCO world heritage site and has been classified as an arid zone biodiversity hotspot. Access is restricted to this extremely sensitive environment. The unique succulent diversity along this route is extraordinary and the landscape is spectacular. See populations of gibbaeums haworthia truncata, gasteria bayeri, hoodii grandis and astroloba spiralis in its natural habitat. PLACE, DATES & TIMES Calitzdorp, Monday – 23 Sept 2019 – 07:00 DISTANCE, DURATION & FITNESS LEVEL The hike is about 16 km and is estimated to take about 8 hours to complete. Although the route is not difficult but a good amount of fitness is required. WHERE TO MEET This hike will depart from the parking area of De Krans Wine Cellar at the appointed time. BOOKING & PAYMENT Booking and payment are essential as only 15 persons will be accommodated on this hike. The fee to join is R400 and includes conservation fees and a light lunch. The full amount is payable in advance and non-refundable on cancellation. Book Now   IMPORTANT Participants should wear shoes suitable for walking in the veld and bring water, a hat and sun protection.

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Saturday Night Banquet & Movie Premiere

Date: Time: - SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUET & MOVIE PREMIERE This is a “must attend” event during the Calitzdorp Succulent Festival. You will have the chance to meet and mix with succulent experts from all over South Africa, enjoy a wonderful dinner and be the first to see "Survival of the Fattest", a brand new documentary about succulents from reknowned documentary film maker, Neil Curry. EVENING SCHEDULE 18:00 Arrive and Socialise. 18:30 Dinner Served. 19:30 World premiere of a documantary, created and directed by Mr. Neil Curry, one of South Africa’s foremost documentary film makers. Mr Curry will do an introduction of the documentary. The documentary "Survival of the Fattest" takes a close look at how succulents they survive in the wild against all odds. The documentary follows three intrepid plant explorers as they take us into the Karoo for a close look at many indigenous plants and explore how and why these plants survive when other plants cannot. Attendees will each receive a copy of the movie, valued as R100. 20:30 Dessert & Coffee DINNER MENU DINNER MENU (MEAT) DINNER MENU (VEGETARIAN) Starter Goats Cheese, Green Apple and Celery Terrine served with Caramelised Beetroot Puree Main Course Chicken Breast with Savoury Filling and Fragrant Sauce Beef Short Rib in a Port Sauce Couscous with Fresh Vegetables Seasonal Garden Salad Starter Goats Cheese, Green Apple and Celery Terrine served with Caramelised Beetroot Puree Main Course To be announced. VENUE Calitzdorp, Western Cape, South Africa DATE & TIME Saturday, 20 September 2019 from 18:00 onwards COST R300 per person. Includes a salad course, main course and dessert, with wine from local wineries. Remember to select your option of Meat or Vegetarian when booking. GIFT Attendees will each receive a copy of the movie, valued as R100. BOOKING/REGISTRATION Seats are limited and booking is essential. Book Now

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