Annual Events

Kid Activities at the Whale Festival Two Oceans Flags KFM Van at Whale Festival

The Hermanus Whale Festival is the only enviro-arts festival in South Africa “putting the creatures of the deep on stage and under the spotlight alongside top performers and musicians from 20 September to 24 September”. During the festival, Hermanus hosts over 100 000 visitors overall, making it an exciting and busy time for this small fisherman's village. Viewers are privy to the amazing Southern Right whales and their breeding and calving habits, as well as enjoy music, arts, performances and foods from all around South Africa.

Whale Ribbon Baby Whale Jumping Whale in New Harbour

As children, our parents always warned us to not shove our mouths full of food because it’s bad manners. But sometimes a person forgoes such comments, saying: “There is always an exception to the rule.” By the 14th Kalfiefees we have definitely broken this rule by shoving two and a half days’ worth of festivities into our “mouths”.

Swimmer at Gearing Point Fallen Angel at Gearing Point Virus out of Traffic Cones

Hermanus has always been known as the Whale Centre of the World but this year it was also the host of the 10-day long Hermanus FynArts Festival from the 7 – 15 June. This festival boasted a mass of visual arts and crafts, a vast array of live musical performances, food and wine events and much more. All of this made for an unforgettable event for this small fisherman's town.

Easter in Hermanus is a fantastic affair that brings together all walks of life to celebrate the rebirth of Christ and the heritage of Hermanus. During Easter Weekend you can find many different activities for you and the family to enjoy.

PASSION PLAY HERMANUS

Passion Play Jesus Passion Play Old Harbour Passion Play from Afar

During Easter Weekend it’s a religious tradition to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and Hermanus is now well-known for their in depth and amazingly rendered Passion Play.

“The creators of the Hermanus Passion Play call it a miracle. Those who have seen the play, performed in its unique rocky setting in the Old Harbour, simply call it unforgettable. And then there are some who say that it is even better than the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau. For the past fifteen years, the Passion Play has been performed on Good Friday at the Old Harbour in Hermanus. Every year it is watched by thousands - some come from as far as Pretoria and Johannesburg with the sole aim to watch the electrifying performance in its stark old-worldish harbour setting.” (Whale Talk 2010)

HERMANUS VISBASH

Visbash Stall Visbash Crowds Visbash Potjie

The Hermanus Visbash takes place in Onrus River over the Easter holidays (April – May) and is a lovely event that locals and visitors look forward to every year. During the day the air is filled with the mouth-watering scents of fresh seafood as local talents create teams and participate in the Visbash competition to find out who is this year’s best seafood chef(s). While the competition is in full swing there’s also many different stalls, arts and crafts for the children and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. There are also several ideal picnic spots to relax at (or nap) that are usually sheltered from the sun and offer a great vantage point of everything that’s going on around the fair.

There are so many other activities to entertain the family with during this holiday, like the Saturday Markets, walks in Fernkloof Nature Reserve, beach outtings to catch up on some tanning, Cliff Path walks and more!