Two unique “oceanator” events start on Friday — the first national Granny Grommets “Salt, Soul & Sisterhood” gathers in the city ahead of Saturday’s big day of festivities, and the Hello Chintsa Sardine Run festival gets going with talks on the local marine environment.
Granny Grommets, a movement of women over 50 who surf on bodyboards, will come together for an informal pre-festival celebration on the waves of Nahoon Beach on Friday morning ahead of the formal 5pm function and registration at the Beacon Bay Country Club, where 12 teams made up of a mix of members from six sister groups on the SA coastline will meet and be briefed.
The big moment, however, is at 8am when all the teams, representing 132 Granny Grommets, will parade on Nahoon Beach in front of the EL Surf Lifesaving clubhouse.
The women have gone to great lengths to attract sponsors, create team colours and logos on T-shirts, caps, hats and buffs, and some even painted their nails in team colours.
The march is expected to be an exuberant display of pride, power, solidarity and love for the marine and coastal environment which has provided a constant source of energy for the movement.
The day will segue into an expression session-styled event, with all women getting into the water to surf in heats, along with other beach festivities, and will end with a closing function and party at the clubhouse.
On the East Coast, the 60-event Chintsa-based Sardine Run Festival’s “voices of land and sea” programme runs from Saturday (July 4) to July 11, with an environment-focused start at 7.30am and 10.30am on Chintsa Beach when Arne Verho identifies a range of pioneering dune plants and insects in his talk “How Ya Dune?” (R50).
On Sunday, Dr Deborah Robertson-Andersson speaks at Crawfords Beach Lodge on all marine life.
Her talk “The Deep Dive: Love, War and Society in our Deep Blue” was sold out in KwaZulu-Natal recently and had a waiting list.
On Thursday (July 9) at 5pm, KuGompo City’s own marine legend, Kevin Cole, principal scientist at the EL Museum, will speak about the natural history of Chintsa Bay.
Also on Thursday, Leane Harbottle, the regional co-ordinator of the Childhood Cancer Foundation SA (Choc), holds a session for children on the beach to talk about small creatures — bats, mice and marine animals with a focus on “Toto the otter”.
On July 11 at 9am, Dennis Taylor will show the public the magic of rock pools, explaining how life works in these dynamic zones (free).
There are multiple events on the community-designed programme which range from art to adventure to food and dining leisure.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.