National Arts Festival

Every winter Makhanda, a town of around seventy thousand, absorbs a festival that runs several hundred productions across a dozen days - theatre, dance, music, visual art, comedy and a large student fringe, in church halls, school classrooms, the university theatres and marquees. It began in 1974 and is generally described as the largest arts festival on the continent. The main programme is curated and the fringe is open entry, which means the quality range is enormous and part of the experience is taking a chance on something in a converted classroom. Winter here is cold and often wet, and everyone dresses for it. The town's other identity is educational - Rhodes University and a cluster of old schools. Some sixty venues are used, a children's festival and the National Youth Jazz Festival run alongside, and the main programme and fringe are both run by a non-profit festival office.

The main sights

• The scale - several hundred productions in a town of seventy thousand.
• The open fringe - anyone can enter, so the quality range is genuinely wide.
• The converted venues - classrooms, church halls and marquees turned into theatres.
• The 1974 origin - the continent's largest arts festival, held every winter since.

When to go

Late June into early July, on the published dates. Three to five days to see anything properly.

What to expect

Accommodation books out months ahead and prices rise sharply. Winter is cold and wet - dress for it. Fringe quality is unpredictable by design. The town has limited infrastructure and water supply problems have affected festivals in recent years.

Nearby

Addo Elephant Park is south-west; the Amathole mountains are east.

Key facts