Suidoosterfees

The Suidoosterfees ("South Easter Festival") is an Afrikaans arts festival.

Sometimes written as Suidooster-fees, or (wrongly) even two words - Suidooster Fees. Also known as the Burger-Suidoosterfees after its chief sponsor.

Originally held at the University of the Western Cape and the Peninsula Techikon, as part of the debate on Afrikaans, but also as antithesis of the perceived "whiteness" of the KKNK and other Afrikaans festivals. Leading figures in the founding of the festival were Jakes Gerwel (chairman of the board) and Christa van Louw. The first festival took place in 2003.

For logistical reasons, the Festival soon moved away from the campus, and began to utilize venues in the Artscape Complex and other venues in Cape Town.

The concept of the Suidoosterfees in Cape Town was developed by Christa van Louw and the “Stigting vir die Bemagtiging deur Afrikaans”, under mentorship of Professor Jakes Gerwel. The idea grew from a desire to bring together different Afrikaans speaking communities at a single “seamless” event – to quote the late Professor Gerwel. The idea was that Afrikaans should serve as a basis for a festival in an environment where Afrikaans is the dominant language, but where other Afrikaans festivals are not readily accessible to all. This culminated in the festival’s character as seamless in terms of language (even though the majority of productions are in Afrikaans), race, gender, political affiliation and faith.

The first Suidoosterfees was held in 2003 at the Cape Peninsula Technicon in Bellville South. In 2007 the festival was relocated to the Artscape Theatre Complex in order to attract more attendees and to improve accessibility.

Since its initiation, the festival was positioned as a multicultural event with Afrikaans as the common denominator. The festival is an important forum for cultural cross-pollination, ranging from intellectual discourse to physical interaction.

The board of the Suidoosterfees conducted research on the needs of Afrikaans people across a wide spectrum. Results showed that the capacity of the arts to enhance people’s sense of dignity is often underutilised.

The festival’s name is being associated with the famous southeaster wind – the Cape Doctor – and serves as a metaphor to convey the idea that the festival promotes healing and reconciliation through Afrikaans. Mutual conversation and synergy are important aspects of the festival. Festivals have an obligation to develop its audiences and to counteract the deterioration of all South Africans’ sense of cultural identity.