As from today, there will be a buzz in the centre of Stellenbosch, extending to Kayamandi, Cloetesville, Ida's Valley and various wine farms, when the US Woordfees 2016's theme of Bly (Stay) will be interpreted in theatre productions, book discussions, discourse, art exhibitions, movies, lunches with writers and music for all tastes; even a pop concert at Coetzenburg – a first for the festival!

The festival kicked off on Thursday evening (3 March) with the "Langtafel" event in Ryneveld Street, where Prof Nico Koopman, Stellenbosch University's (SU) Acting Vice-rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, welcomed guest.

The Director of the US Woordfees, Saartjie Botha, is very excited about extending the festival to the outskirts of the town

"Apart from the desire to present the festival across the whole town, the extension to Ida's Valley, Kayamandi and Cloetesville is a way of getting people out of their comfort zones.

"Productions based on literary works are popular at the festival and many of these are at Lückhoff High School in Ida's Valley, to attract audiences. Now that the Klein Libertas Theatre has burnt down this school hall is perfect, because it's an intimate space with very good acoustics.

"This year, Amazink in Kayamandi is a proper venue with a variety of productions. It is our responsibility to include everybody in town in the festival and we want everyone to start talking to one another. We must all benefit from the US Woordfees."

The festival productions commence today, with one of the highlights being Die Gangsters, which will be performed in the Breughel Theatre to commemorate Prof Benoni Dehaeck's immense contribution to this theatre and its actors.

The SU Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Corvin Matei, is performing in the Endler Hall with the well-known Ben Schoeman at the piano.

Another definite hit is Hond se Gedagte, widely considered to be the greatest farce of all times, and with several Maties alumni in the cast, will be running in the Town Hall.

Saturday, 5 March sees the launch of the extensive programme of Woorde Open Wêrelde (WOW) with the WOW Media project, the "Vers-en-Verf" workshops, and the WOW Day for Teachers.

Another exciting item, especially for sports enthusiasts, is the Street Mile Festival in Victoria Street, where the Dagbreek/Maties Dream Mile will be run in honour of De Villiers Lamprecht, an ex-Dagbreek resident who was the first South African to run a dream mile of under 4 minutes on 13 November 1964 at Coetzenburg.

Those concerned about the current controversy about the language of tuition at the SU and other universities in SA, should not miss the debate on multilingualism in South Africa at the Khaya.

Award-winning author Carel van der Merwe will talk about his book on Eugène Marais, Donker Stroom; Willem Anker, SU lecturer in Afrikaans, will discuss his book, Samsa-masjien; and Prof Mathilda Burden will present an architectural walk through Stellenbosch on behalf of the Stellenbosch Museum.

Sunday's programme includes the opening of the art exhibition called Spreek die Woord/Break the Spell, running at both the Gallery of the University of Stellenbosch (GUS) and the Oude Libertas Gallery.

Raka will be performed at Lückhoff High School, and on Sunday evening you can relax at Coetzenburg at first Woordfees Pops.   

Tickets are available at Computicket or at the Erfurthuis.