Ficksburg Cherry Festival

Cherries need winter cold to set fruit, which almost nowhere in South Africa provides; the eastern Free State highlands around Ficksburg do, and the district grows the great majority of the country's crop along with most of its asparagus. The festival has been held here since 1968, in November when the fruit ripens, and it is a full country show rather than a food fair alone - orchard tours and cherry picking, a market, competitions, sport, a beauty contest, music and a parade, spread over several days. The setting is the other half: this is the sandstone country of the eastern Free State, with the Maluti mountains of Lesotho rising directly across the border and the golden cliffs of the Clarens district an hour north. The crop is small and weather-dependent, and in a bad year there may be very few cherries to pick.

Highlights

• The country's cherry district - the eastern Free State cold that makes the crop possible.
• A full country show - orchard tours, market, competitions and parade since 1968.
• Sandstone country - the Maluti mountains rising across the Lesotho border.
• Picking in the orchards - when the crop and the timing cooperate.

When to go

November; dates are announced locally each year. Two days.

What to expect

The crop varies year to year and picking may be limited or unavailable. Accommodation in Ficksburg is scarce during the festival and must be booked far ahead. It is a local country festival, not a polished event. The town is a long drive from any city.

Nearby

Clarens is north; the Golden Gate Highlands park is beyond it.