The ‘ultimate outdoors experience’ just turned Sweet Sixteen and with organizers of South Africa’s pioneer music festival upbeat about ushering in an even more wondrous era with Splashy 07 next Easter long-weekend, the time is right for looking back – and forward - at the country’s best-loved annual gathering.

When in 1980 Peter and Almary Ferraz bought the Underberg farm which they quickly renamed Splashy Fen they had already been inspired to stage an outdoors musical get-together by attending the first-ever ‘Flower Power’ extravaganza – 1967’s Festival of the Flower Children at Woburn Abbey in England. In addition to the memory of that most famous of English hippie events, Splashy Fen farm was obviously an ideal setting with natural amphitheatre for great acoustics plus a picturesque river, breathtaking mountain vistas and lots of fields for comfortable camping. A resident otter population also provided appealing logo icon material for future use! It may have taken a decade for the grand plan to come together, but the inaugural Splashy Fen Music Festival duly made South African history in October 1990.

Surprise Showing
Its original purpose, according to Peter Ferraz, was “to have a really good time with a few musicians playing plinkety-plink music round campfires, joined by some truly passionate music-lovers. We anticipated an attendance of about 200 but we attracted 1 200 instead, which showed that there were a lot of people out there desperately looking for something like this. It was a nice mellow party and we made no money but still gave some to local charities such as the Underberg branch of the Wildlife Society. Charities continue to benefit every year”.

A late snowfall on the final day of that groundbreaking Splashy festival saw its positioning on the calendar change to late April and more recently to run for the duration of the Easter long-weekend each year. But even timing to coincide with that religious period has not always protected the festival from the vagaries of Underberg’s notorious climate with its likelihood of presenting all weather conditions at any time of the year - rain, hail, sleet, wind, drought, thunder and lightning as well as an abundance of perfect days with crisp, clear nights.

All Generations
It is well documented that the Splashy Fen gatherings have grown markedly since 1990, with organisers concentrating on making it comfortable and appealing for young families to attend. Babes-in-arms are nowadays a common sight, children are well catered for and older people have been made to feel especially welcome. That said, the 18 to 28 age group continues to make up the majority as they are, in the deduction of Peter Ferraz, “the most mobile, without responsibilities, and the keenest on having a great party. And they are probably more up with what music is around than younger or older age groups”. He further holds that the festival not only brings people together, but also serves as “a perfect recipe for how the whole country ought to operate. Everyone is everyone else’s friend, and everyone’s dignity is respected. There has hardly been a single significant incident of aggression during its entire history, which is remarkable for the numbers involved and the general jollification. Splashy transcends potentially divisive issues such as race, background, age and religion”.

Memory Lane
The festival director and farm owner recalls that “each year seems to be the best! Although our biggest turnouts came about five years ago when we featured top - and very expensive - bands such as Hothouse Flowers from Ireland, Just Jinger and so on, those were the years of our biggest headaches because of the sheer size of things, so I wouldn’t say those were the ones I remember with the most satisfaction. Today we would be much better prepared for bigger turnouts – our infrastructure has grown – so size wouldn’t be a problem. The best years are definitely those when the weather is kind and when everyone is really well behaved, as they have been for most of the time. The unforgettable events, though, are those when it rains or freezes!”

Downsides have been remarkably few: “Apart from the logistical problems of those extraordinarily large turnouts when our infrastructure was inadequate, and the temporary chaos of heavy rain and mud such as in 1994 there have been no major lows. We did have a problem with security a few years ago, particularly when the army ‘volunteered’ to help on our boundary to prevent illegal entry from outside and they got drunk and drove around waving guns and creating a not very pleasant atmosphere. In recent years however our security staff – from a local company – have been firm and efficient yet gentle in their handling of problem situations. We were also worried a few years ago about the possibility of serious drug dealers infiltrating the festivals, and certainly cases of drug abuse rose for a few years. Thanks to good security arrangements and liaison with the police Narcotics staff in recent years drug abuse has dropped to insignificant levels – as the police themselves have confirmed – and we are probably the most drugs-free festival in the country.

Numbers Game
With the exception of a slight dip which followed the numbers rising “too fast for the infrastructure and things got a bit messy and untidy”, the Splashy throng has grown year-on-year without fail. Organisers believe this to be “an indication that we are providing the kind of event that a lot of people really enjoy and talk about and influence friends into giving a try. We always have lots of new recruits to Splashy”. Approximately 5 500 paying visitors attended Splashy 06, to which can be added at least 2 000 musicians, sound and lighting technicians, sponsors and their guests, media representatives, food caterers and so forth, plus a relatively large number of children under 12 who come in free. Peter Ferraz foresees “a natural ceiling of about 6 000 to 7 000 paying visitors…if we went much bigger it might spoil the special ambience of the festival and could start to deter people”.

In the face of this ‘population explosion’ the festival director and farm owner nonetheless dismisses any claims that the festival’s growth has impacted negatively on the environment: “Most visitors spend their time on previously cultivated fields which can again be put under the plough for agriculture and as for the wilder areas, the number of people over the Splashy weekend probably has less impact than a herd of cattle over several months. For quite a lot of these festival-goers it is possibly their first experience of the great outdoors, and we work hard to get them to fully appreciate this environment. The wildlife seen here is phenomenally diverse and plentiful…we keep lists of animals and birds and they really are impressive.”

Broader Scale
Splashy Fen has expanded significantly in a musical sense, too, and for several years has already offered a substantially more expansive range of music from the initial acoustic, largely folk selection of its nascent phase. The festival’s manifesto is to “continue to bring the best in South African music to as many ordinary South Africans – and anybody else – as possible, so we benefit the musicians by providing them with audiences which they wouldn’t normally get, and we benefit the music-lovers by giving them the best sounds at a very reasonable cost. Since there are usually about 70 different bands playing, it works out at less than R5 a band to see them live”.

Regarding its important role in South African music, the festival’s vision is to give local musicians “a wonderful platform on which to perform, and at which they can interrelate with other of the country’s top musicians, as well as affording South Africans with a new-found sense of pride in and awareness of their own music. Because of this awareness and demand for ‘Local is Lekker’, radio stations have been responding appropriately which in turn benefits the artists. Technically, the ‘new generation’ Splashy is recognized as having become far more professional, which has become a talking point among musicians especially. We were the first such music festival in South Africa and since then quite a few more have sprung up as a result of our success, which means that even more platforms have become available to SA musicians”.

Change/Same
With the festival about to embark on its next evolutionary era, Peter Ferraz assures fans that “there will always be changes at Splashy Fen…there always have been. Although the basic formula remains, nobody can ever say that it’s the same old thing, year after year. It may be a reshuffling of stages, the introduction of a new stage, a focus on Jazz or Blues or even Classical music or Gospel, or the provision of exciting non-musical extras like hot-air ballooning. So although the basic idea of live music on scattered stages and lots of people camping in spectacular surrounds won’t change, it would be impossible to predict exactly the scores of modifications and improvements that will be made…those will be the surprises in store for future festival-goers. And even should we become associated with big TV presentations, Splashy Fen will always be Splashy Fen”

“It’s important to me that it continues – for ever, if necessary, because we would be letting down an enormous number of people if we decided to call it quits. I love the music, I love the people and I love the relaxed nature of the whole thing, despite the worrying and planning and hard work – of which there is lots!”

Diary Date
The customary four full-time organizers are already well into preparing for Splashy Fen 2007 and more than 100 support workers – marshals, gate teams, electricians, information tent and merchandising staff – are bracing themselves to ensure that for long-time supporters and new fans alike Easter long-weekend Thursday 5 April to Monday 9 April will be the ‘ultimate outdoors experience’ to top all those that have gone before.