Beer Fest late, complaints galore
The Polokwane Beer Fest hosted at the city’s rugby fields on Saturday initially did not draw a big crowd but attendance picked up by 22:00 and ended on Sunday around 03:00 amidst many complaints from nearby residents. The event was advertised to start at noon but patrons only started to arrive at the venue after …
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2016/03/news10-4.jpg)
The Polokwane Beer Fest hosted at the city’s rugby fields on Saturday initially did not draw a big crowd but attendance picked up by 22:00 and ended on Sunday around 03:00 amidst many complaints from nearby residents.
The event was advertised to start at noon but patrons only started to arrive at the venue after 18:00 to be met by a few small stalls providing refreshments and loud music being played to a sizeable crowd of security personnel and vendors of the stalls awaiting clients.
Residents living as far as the city’s tennis courts, complained about the noise that only stopped close to 04:00 on Sunday. “We are very disappointed that the organisers of the event were allowed to continue until the early hours of the day that is supposed to be a day of rest,” one of the residents said.
Organiser of the event, Kabelo Motswi said the beer fest was a great success and that permission was duly obtained to proceed until 06:00 on Sunday. “We only had about 1 000 visitors at a previous event and this time we had over 3 000 visitors. There were only a few stalls providing refreshments because guests were allowed to bring their own food and drinks as is traditional,” Motswi said.
Story: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com
Featured photo: The stage at the beer fest that was hosted at the rugby fields in the city.
![The beer garden where visitors could sit down for a drink.](https://www.observer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/141/2016/03/news11-4-300x201.jpg)
![One of the few stalls providing refreshments to visitors of the beer fest.](https://www.observer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/141/2016/03/news12-4-300x201.jpg)