Stellenbosch University's (SU) Woordfees 2016 was a festival of highlights and successes. Saartjie Botha, festival director, said the record amount of tickets sold is proof that the festival serves a community who engages with the arts.

Ticket sales are up by 27,8%, 20% in rand value, owing to the one Friday on which tickets were sold at R30 each, and the cash free system grew by 200%. "We can feel proud of a successful festival in these difficult times. People are price sensitive and we want to make it accessible to as many people as possible," Botha said.

The inclusion of Coetzenburg as a venue for the carnival and pop festivals was a new extension to the festival, which was well attended and appreciated. In spite of a howling southeaster, as many as 6 000 fans pitched up for rock star Karen Zoid's concert (photo above by Stefan Els).

The Woordfees' use of venues in neighbourhoods beyond the town centre was also an attempt to make the festival more inclusive. Apart from the Breughel Theatre in Cloetesville already used for Woordfees shows in 2015, Amazink in Kayamandi, where, among others, very successful Poetry Slams were held, and Lückhoff High School, with its hall being a great venue for serious theatre productions, were new additions to the festival this year.

At the Stellenbosch 360 discourse, Botha said that about 12% of the tickets sold in 2015 went to non-white festival-goers, this year it had increased to 20% - the target that the Woordfees management had set for 2016.

According Prof Andreas van Wyk, chairperson of Stellenbosch 360, the festival in 2015 generated more than R120 million, and it is expected that it will generate even more this year. The turnover at the Book Tent was R841 000 this year, evidence that people still read books and especially Afrikaans books.

Many SU academics, students and alumni actively participated in in this year's Woordfees in discourse sessions such as those of Beste Professor and the Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Foundation series, as well as in drama and music productions and art exhibitions. 

According to Botha, the integration of Woorde Open Wêrelde (WOW) projects into the Woordfees was a great success and a "pleasant experience" for the teachers and learners.

Shireen Crotz, coordinator of the Sanlam WOW Spelling Fest, and Fiona van Kerwel, manager of the WOW projects, agreed that their projects were very successful. About 2 400 children from approximately 190 schools participated in this year's Woordfees.

"We are very tired, but very satisfied," Crotz said. "The sponsors are very satisfied and we have only received positive feedback. The sponsors see the real difference that their support is making and that is what they want. Our big dream is to give every child in Stellenbosch a Woordfees experience."

Dr Gillian Arends of SU's Centre for Student Recruitment's spoke at the WOW Day for Grade 12s and made the learners realise that they can make their dreams come true by enrolling and studying at SU.

After the annual debate competition, the teachers said they hoped that a generation of learners could be created again that converses with each other, listens to each other and respects each other's opinions even if they are very diverse.