The 15th annual Splashy Fen festival is ready to rock...and send adrenalin-levels soaring, inspire 'One-Tribe' unity, heal jaded souls, thrill with exotic sights, delight young minds, deliver cultural insights, tempt with unique handicrafts, tantalise the taste-buds and, as always, surprise with the unexpected...

The musical line-up promises the widest ranging and most accomplished roster of artists ever. From rock's multiple sub-genres to pan-cultural funkiness and earthy blues, the finalised stage lists are a veritable who's who of long-standing crowd favourites, more recently-emerged chart-busters and word-of-mouth 'underground' bands alike.

While striving to ensure that the spectrum of talent to be aired is as broad as possible - for the benefit of festival-goers as well as the local music scene - quality control was priority number one at Splashy HQ when submissions came pouring in.

Shamanzi, Prime Circle, Pestroy, Ketamine, Marlowe, Jo Day, Squeal, Cynosure, Nemesis, The AK Massive...Nibs van der Spuy, Syd Kitchen, Guy Buttery, Deluxe, Maqhinga, Bobby & The Dynamites, Dan Patlansky & The Mississippi Muthers - a mere sample of the chock-full 'menu' but evidence enough that all tastes are sure to be fully satisfied.

The Drum Cafe is promising its highest-profile presence to date, along with eliminating the term 'rhythmically-challenged' from anyone's vocabulary. Alternative therapists of every conceivable discipline are set to swell the Rainbow Village into a teepee land-marked 'healing magnet' of considerable size and spiritual strength. Power displays of an altogether different - and louder - nature will take the form of 4x4 adventures, Iron Man versus Twin-Cab contests and Quad-Bike ascents of nearby mountain passes.

Float serenely above the festival site in the basket of a Hot-Air Balloon, fling yourself into thin air aboard a hang- or para-glider, explore the Stone Age cave dwellings of the Berg's original inhabitants and the more recent historic reminders which dot the surrounding countryside. Relive the 'No-Man's Land' days of old when smugglers roamed free and easy, and stroll leisurely through terrain hotly contested by Boer, Brit and the Zulu empire.

See your youngsters transformed into drum-wizards and initiated into the mysteries of camel-riding. If that 'altitude' is a bit too daunting, perhaps they'll be more drawn to the low-level approach of a pony-cart. The Menagerie will introduce its 'family' of orphaned and rehabilitated wild animals and birds to help cultivate those nurturing instincts. Magic and mime, puppets and face-painting plus all manner of fun and games are scheduled at regular intervals to allow parents to plan ahead their 'free time' for rocking and rolling.

Ocean View Montessori School, which runs the professionally-staffed Festival Crèche where much of the Children's Programme takes place, will also maintain 'between acts' activities designed to keep those hard-to-please bundles of energy fully occupied and enthralled.

And don't forget the now-legendary Beer Tent, as proceeds play a significantly charitable role in the local community, thanks to an arrangement with the Sani 152 Round Table.

Splashy Fen 2004...the chance to do good and feel good for an entire long-weekend custom-created to please all interests. This one-of-a-kind event already tops the list of South African 'outdoors experiences' - our milestone 15th annual extravaganza is guaranteed to boast more than enough fine music and additional thrills to ensure its status as 'trail-blazer' for Splashy's new era.

It's all fired up and ready to roll...so be there, or be somewhere else and miss the party of the year!