SPONSORS MESSAGES
NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR: ABSA
We look forward to the 16th Absa KKNK with all of you. It promises to be an exceptional festival this year with drama, art, culture and entertainment to everyone’s liking. Absa has already been involved in the KKNK as its key name sponsor. We are proud to celebrate yet another milestone in this successful partnership by being the key name sponsor of the Absa KKNK for the next five years until 2015. The Absa KKNK has already become the “home” of all lovers of the arts. We also share the resolution of the KKNK to develop the arts industry in such a way that even wider audiences are enticed and the unity in variety of all people in our country may be celebrated. This will contribute to the realisation of the vision of the African renaissance. The KKNK has, like all successful undertakings, started out as a dream that came true through sheer resourcefulness, planning, hard work, partnerships between role players, and continued attention to quality and renewal. The Absa KKNK is a shining example of how those mutual beneficial and sustainable business-arts partnerships are able to promote arts and culture with a total economic impact of more than R90 million. This entrepreneurial vision of the KKNK is something with which Absa finds huge favour. The festival has grown into one of the most important tourism events in South Africa and one of the largest job creators for the people of the Klein Karoo. Therefore, it a privilege for Absa to be part of the KKNK, which can be viewed as one of the success stories since Madiba’s release 20 years ago as well as our first democratic election 16 years ago.
Enjoy the festival with us!
Maria Ramos
Group Chief Executive, Absa
FOUNDER SPONSOR: MEDIA24
There is a good reason why Media24 returns to the dramatic landscape of the Klein Karoo for the 16th consecutive time this year to fill its shoes as one of the founder sponsors of the Absa KKNK. Not only do we share the passion for Afrikaans of the KKNK and the residents of Oudtshoorn, but we are also committed to the aspiration of helping create an environment together with the best artists in our country where all can find inspiration from the quality productions that are showcased here every year. We are also proud of the important role which the KKNK plays in the broader South African context like our publications present at the festival to encourage people to contribute positively through shared interests and differences. Of course we are also proud of and excited about all the new events that lie ahead for all of us at the festival this year. From programme highlights to the brand new festival district and Rivierbuurt which will convert the whole of Oudtshoorn into a home for the arts. Media24 wishes the organisers, fellow-sponsors, artists, local community and entrepreneurs who also benefit from the Absa KKNK everything of the best.
Like thousands of other festival goers, we are looking forward to world class productions and of course also the superb Klein Karoo hospitality with which we are spoilt every year.
Best wishes.
Francois Groepe
Chief Executive Officer: Media24
PREMIER SPONSOR: WINDHOEK LAGER
Brandhouse Beverages (Pty.) Ltd. is extremely proud to announce that they have been granted the exclusive beverage rights of the 16th Absa KKNK. As one of the most prominent beverage companies in South Africa, Brandhouse looks forward to being part of the Absa KKNK this year, and would like to offer all festival goers a new and special experience. Some of our top quality products such as Windhoek Lager, Smirnoff Spin, Captain Morgan and many others will be part of this unique festival. For the first time in the history of the Absa KKNK a stylish demarcated area will be created, housing its own unique beverage and music style. The Absa KKNK is positive proof of a festival which benefits from the regional economy of the Klein Karoo which has shown an annual growth with thousands of South Africans who flock to Oudtshoorn year after year for an unforgettable cultural experience. Brandhouse is privileged to be part of numerous top musical cultural festivals countrywide, including the annual Kirkwood Wildlife Festival in the Eastern Cape which has entertained around 35 000 festival goers in 2009 as well as the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and the Oppikoppi Music Festival. The latest partnership with the organisers of the Absa KKNK is definitely one which we value greatly and to which we are proudly committed. Naturally, with the enjoyable experiences festival goers can expect at the Absa KKNK, our responsible alcohol use message will be visible throughout the festival area. I want to encourage everyone to experience a joyous festival at the Absa KKNK to again ensure a successful festival. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the organisers of the Absa KKNK for this partnership. We wish all involved lots of success for a wonderful festival and hope to see you back in the heart of the Klein Karoo many more times.
Kind (festival) regards.
Gerald Mahinda
Managing Director: Brandhouse Beverages (Pty) Ltd.
PREMIER SPONSOR: DIE BURGER
There are arts festivals and then there is the Absa KKNK the mother of Afrikaans festivals; the festival which celebrates its 16th anniversary; the festival which has led directly or indirectly to the establishment of numerous other Afrikaans arts festivals over one and a half decades; and the festival which has contributed greatly to the golden era that Afrikaans art and entertainment experience across the spectrum of genres. If arts festivals were to at all serve as standard, there is little doubt that Afrikaans art and entertainment have much more pizzazz than many people are willing to acknowledge, and the KKNK is the leading source of Afrikaans arts and entertainment. It is the biggest market for showcasing and experiencing the best this country has to offer when it comes to the cream of Afrikaans creative talent. Die Burger has been present right from the start. We pride ourselves on having made a considerable contribution and are still doing so in the expansion of the KKNK as the leader, synonymous with the pride of Afrikaans talent and creativity especially this year when the KKNK, like Die Burger, wears its heart on its “tongue”. Whether it is an ostrich tongue with a Klein Karoo accent or a Capetonian tongue with a “Stellenb๔๔๔s” sound, we will all converse once more this year. As usual, Die Burger plans on creating a one in a million experience for festival goers and particularly our readers this year. Please come visit our stage for one of the best experiences of this, the 16th ABSA KKNK!
See you there!
Henry Jeffreys
Former Editor: Die Burger
PREMIER SPONSOR: HUISGENOOT
The Klein Karoo National Arts Festival is as synonymous with Afrikaans as biltong, Skouspel and chutney. On behalf of Huisgenoot, welcome in Oudtshoorn. We trust you and your family and friends will enjoy the festival! This year it is our privilege to be involved as partner of the Absa KKNK with the ever popular day and night stage of Huisgenoot Musiekplaas situated within the new Rivierbuurt. Pay us a visit, listen to the best Afrikaans music and enjoy being Afrikaans with us. And please show your face at the reader centre of Huisgenoot where you are able to visit our new websites, subscribe to Huisgenoot and our other magazines, HuisgenootPols and HuisgenootTempo, and be spoilt somewhat by our festival team. But above all, support the festival in all its facets. We hope you will return home with an enriched soul and an Afrikaans song in your heart!
Huisgenoot regards.
Esmaré Weideman
Editor: Huisgenoot
SENIOR SPONSOR: kykNET
The relationship between kykNET and the Absa KKNK forms part of a larger synergy between arts festivals and television. The arts festivals are integral platforms for the development of talent in the performing arts as well as productive sources of talent on television. The close collaboration between kykNET and the Absa KKNK also ensures a greater platform for the performing arts, and we hope that it will be the case for many years to come. It is 2010, kykNET is ten years old and it is also the tenth year that we are involved in the Absa KKNK. It is the first time this year that we are a senior sponsor. This year we utilise all three of our Afrikaans channels, kykNET, MK and Koowee, to ensure entertainment to a wide range of age groups here at the festival. The little people will be able to enrol for all-day long entertainment and activities at the Absa Koowee Children’s Corner while Mum and Dad enjoy top notch theatre productions at the kykNET High School venue. And for our tough MK fans there is more than enough local music to be had. kykNET is proud to be a sponsor of the Absa KKNK while having fun being part of our nation, our wonderful nation.
This is where we want to be.
Karen Meiring
Chief of the Afrikaans channels at M-NET
SENIOR SPONSOR: RSG
Many things have changed at the Absa KKNK but one thing that has stayed the same is that we will again park our yellow RSG caravan and stage in front of the CP Nel Museum. We invite you to pay us a visit and enjoy music by our country’s top artists and direct broadcasts of some of the top RSG programmes. A number of RSG broadcasters will also be at the venue and you are most welcome to say hello. Die Beiteltjie is our showpiece because here you can listen to what really goes on behind the radio scenes the sounds and the power of imagination. Daily listen to extraordinary feature-programmes and stories which have been broadcast on RSG, in the NA Smit Room in the CP Nel Museum. May this year’s visit to Oudtshoorn, and especially to RSG, be extremely pleasant and enriching.
Magdaleen Krüger
Manager: RSG
SENIOR SPONSOR: VODACOM
For eight festive days is the Klein Karoo, Oudtshoorn and the Afrikaans culture are in the limelight once more. It is that time of the year when the whole district is bustling with activity while readying for the ‘Big Visit’, celebrations and frolicking. Vodacom, South Africa’s foremost cellular network, welcomes all festival goers to the 2010 Absa KKNK. This year the festival promises to provide young and old with enjoyment, and to joyously celebrate our unique culture and language diversity in Afrikaans by means of the arts. Vodacom is proud once more to be part of the greatest annual arts festival, one of a kind, in South Africa. As in the past, we ensure that travelling from one festival venue to another will be pure pleasure by providing a free commuter service of local minibus taxis to festival goers. To everybody who has worked hard behind the scenes this year: Thank you very much for your energy and willingness to give only your best at all times. We hereby wish all festival goers a happy 16th anniversary because it is you who make the Absa KKNK such a special event on the South African calendar. Enjoy it, and be proud of your language and your culture!
Let's keep the Karoo rocking! Kuze kuse!
Carol Hall
Chief Executive Officer: Eastern Cape Region
SENIOR SPONSOR: SABC2
In a year filled with exciting activities for our country, with amongst others, the Fifa World Cup taking place here, SABC2 is proud once more to be part of the popular Afrikaans arts festival, the Absa KKNK. Although the last year has been somewhat hectic for the channel, we still try to offer our viewers the best TV programmes possible. We look at programmes such as SA’s Got Talent where the channel has moved into unknown territory and discovered hidden talent to represent the true picture of South Africans. This year is no different. We enter into 2010 with more energetic, refreshing and constructive programmes. Amongst these programmes is a series of brand new shows viewers can look forward to watching. As far as drama is concerned we give you Erfsondes III, The Mating Game, Sterk Skemer and Chuck. We promise top entertainment with the return of a brand new season of the popular Supersterre III, Noot vir Noot, 50/50 and yes, SA’s Got Talent II which returns later in the year. And we will not forget the greatest event of the year. Siyaya 2010 is a patriotic programme that looks at what the Fifa World Cup really means to South Africans. Our viewers can log onto www.sabc.co.za for further information on the interesting new shows on SABC2. As the channel for the nation it is important to us to celebrate South Africa’s diverse arts and culture, and make it key to our business. SABC2 will try to always offer its viewers the best programmes. It is through interaction with viewers and their feedback that we are able to bring them the best television albeit dramas, documentaries or reality shows. The two-way communication between us makes the channel what it is. Without our viewers we might us well pack our bags and have a black-out on SABC2. I would like to use this opportunity to wish everybody health and happiness for this year. Last but by no means least, a huge thank you to the Absa KKNK for the privilege of sharing in this opportunity.
Thank you.
Bessie Tugwana
General Manager: SABC2
GOVERNMENT SPONSOR: PRWK
Not only is the Western Cape the most beautiful province in South Africa, but it is also home to our country’s largest, oldest and most popular Afrikaans arts festival. When the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival kicked off 16 years ago, few people could have foreseen that this unique event would grow so dramatically. Through the years the festival has undergone various new phases: Thanks to the generosity of Absa we talk about the “Absa KKNK” these days; the festival programme has progressively advanced to a level where most forms of arts and culture in our country are reflected; and like a typical energetic and modern 16-year old, this teenager has stepped out in new gear this year in the form of a new, better planned and festival goer-friendly festival area, known as the Rivierbuurt. For the first time since the inception of the festival visitors now have the opportunity to experience a variety of festival activities for young and old in one big area. On a personal and professional level, family values are extremely important to me and therefore I am rightly proud of this project of the organisers. The Absa KKNK is now not only the place of choice for South Africa’s top artists it is also the family destination for EVERYBODY in the country! The Western Cape government has been one of the government partners of the festival for the past ten years and I look forward to our continued commitment to this unique event. May the 2010 Absa KKNK be the best year ever for its organisers, artists, sponsors and visitors!
Warm regards.
Helen Zille
Western Cape Premier
SENIOR SPONSOR: TOYOTA
The Absa KKNK is undoubtedly one of the great highlights on the South African arts and culture calendar. As in the past, Toyota is proud to be part of the festival. Toyota South Africa is celebrating its 30th year as leader in the motor vehicle market in South Africa and also 40 years of the country’s favourite ‘bakkie’ the uncontainable, extremely tough Toyota Hilux. Come visit us at the exhibition area and look at the history of this extraordinary vehicle ... and then meet the Legend 40 a special rendition to celebrate 40 years of Hilux. As in the past, Toyota offers a variety of activities in our exhibition area and we welcome you there.
Regards.
Johan van Zyl
Toyota South Africa
