If on a Friday afternoon you’re on your way from Franschhoek to Paarl on the R45, and you turn left toward Pniel, you will find a night market you wish you knew about earlier.
Every Friday night from 18:00 to 21:00, Boschendal Winery hosts a evening market with live music, fresh produce, food stalls and local products to peruse and purchase.
The stalls at the market are all set up in one long line in the middle of the road that leads to the Manor House. On either sides of the stalls, high, green trees reach up in the air, with bright white lights hanging from their branches.
On the table of one of the first stalls lay metal straws. A tall, friendly face behind the counter smiles as he speaks about how these straws can help save the environment.
Next to the straws is a stall with beautiful hand-made leather products. Campbell Armoury leather products was launched earlier this year by Zenobia Campbell, the founder.
On the table lay hand-stitched, hand-crafted high end leather purses, belts and wallets.
Also sold at the market is fresh juice, squeezed from the fruits in a wooden crate on the table of the stall.
On a single table by the parking-entrance of the market stand three white buckets with breathtakingly beautiful pink proteas. The pair of scissors on the table lets you believe they were just cut from a plant nearby.
A light breeze in the air will make you gravitate toward two low fires made on either side of the market. Every now and then the smoke may blow into your eyes, but the smell of the burning wood adds to the calm mood of the market.
Hungry? Grab some of the fresh meat grilled on the spot. Options range from hot-dogs to vegetables, and meat grilled to perfection.
It’s friday after all. You can grab a bottle of red or white Boschendal wine, sold by the bottle, to be enjoyed with your food.
Theunis (vocals and guitar) and Roelof van der Merwe (guitar, vocals and bass) from Cape-Town provide entertainment at the market. Together these siblings are folk band BrotherBrother. They create an enchanting musical blend of folk and fun, the perfect combination of beat and merriment.
– Photo-essay by Ané van Zyl