A LARGE crowd is expected to attend the Franschhoek Harvest Festival to be held by the Vignerons at Bridge House school this weekend.

Enjoy a delicious range of wines, foods and other harvest offerings at the festival, which will boast dozens of wine and cheese producers as well as some of the Franschhoek's best chefs doing cook-offs.

Snack while you stroll or rest up with a bottle of wine and listen to live UCT jazz and the sounds of Delta Blue.

There will be opportunity to buy wines, cheeses and other produce at cellar-door prices.

Children are welcom (entry for under 12's is free) and there will be facilities that will entertain both young and more mature children and a creche for toddlers.

From boutique breweries to handcrafted estate cheeses and wines that suit every palate and procket, the festival will have something for everyone.

Tickets are now available through Computicket and from Vignerons de Franschhoek outlets and people with tickets will enter through a fast-track entrance to avoid the queue.

R60 tickets include a wine-tasting glass and all tastings and demonstrations are free. Gates are open daily from 10:00 to 20:00 (Sunday until 18:00).

NA nege maande se bouwerk is die Van Riebeeckstraat biblioteek op Wellington weer oop vir die publiek.

Twee splinternuwe vleuels met ekstra pakkamers en kantore maak deel uit van die nuwe toevoeging.

Verder spog die biblioteek met 'n nuwe vooraansig en beter toeganklikheid vir gestremdes. 

Die meeste boeke is reeds op hulle plek en enkele boekrakke sal later nog

alvorens ander boeke by die nuwe biblioteek uitgeneem mag word.

Die nuwe biblioteek in Vanwyksvlei word van 3 April betrek.

* The library in Van Riebeeck Street, Wellington, has reopened after reconstruction.

THE Christian humanitarian organisation World Vision South Africa (WVSA) handed over books worth about R300 000 to the Mbekweni municipal library as part of its education and literacy programme last week. 

The books were donated to the Mbekweni library through WVSA by World Vision Canada.

WVSA has identified the eradication of illiteracy specifically in previously disadvantaged communities as one of its priorities. Other priorities include HIV/Aids awareness, poverty alleviation and community development.

WVSA Mbekweni ADP Manager, Weziwe Busakawe, said this donation is meant to address the needs of most Mbekweni students attending tertiary institutions in the nearby Paarl and Cape Town. 

She added that a vast number of books have already been distributed to local schools in the past few months.

"The municipal library cannot fully cater for the learning needs of our tertiary learners and as such these students have to travel as far as Cape Town for such resources. 

"In a community where survival is a struggle, this makes education inaccessible to the poor. 

"Therefore the distribution of these high quality books is just an attempt to increase the learning resources in our community and keep our learners abreast with the latest information," Busakawe said.

VIR Waterweek, Maandag tot Sondag, het die Drakenstein Munisipaliteit emmersvol aktiwiteite gereël om inwoners bewus te maak van dié lewensnoodsaaklike kommoditeit.

Daar is die hele week uitstallings by Pick 'n Pay in die Paarl en Wellington, by biblioteke en by die munisipale kantore.

Skole gaan deelneem aan kompetisies om die beste plakkate of storieboeke met 'n watertema te ontwerp. Heerlike pryse kan gewen word.

Belangstellendes word genooi om Dinsdag hand by te sit wanneer 'n rivier op Wellington skoongemaak word.

Woensdag word die Palmietrivier in die Paarl skoongemaak en op Vrydag 22 Maart word besoek gebring aan die Swartland suiweringswerke by Gouda.

'n Uitstappie word ook beplan na die perseel buite Franschhoek waar die beoogde Skuifraamdam gebou sal word.

MORE than twenty community organisations covering a wide spectrum of social activities in the Drakenstein attended the meeting to address crime and moral decay held in the Huguenot Community Hall on Monday.

Unanimous support for the proposed Drakenstein Declaration on Crime and Moral Decay due to be launched in September, was given.

Councillor Harlan Cloete (ACDP) and other members of Council explained the importance of securing inputs from as many community organisations and individual community members as possible.

For this purpose a follow-up meeting will be held on Monday 25 March to give feedback and to obtain additional inputs, if possible from more community organisations.

Organisations who were unable to attend will be invited again and be given a second chance to give inputs.

A commitment was given by every organisation in attendance to succeed with their endeavour to establish a society built on moral values through a collective effort by Council and community organisations to address this social phenomenon.

Meetings were also held in Gouda on Tuesday and last night in Saron.

DIE Haven nagskuiling in die Paarl het sommer groot planne vir 2002. Hieronder is aanbouings by die sentrum en hiervoor is hulle op soek na finansiële steun.

Raymond van Sitters, wat al bekendheid verwerf het as Paarl Kindersorg se 'professionele bedelaar', het sy gewig nou by die Haven se fondsinsameling ingegooi.

Hy is ondervoorsitter van die Haven se bestuur en mense wat kan help, kan hom skakel by 083-553-2763.

Die res van die bestuur is William Kenned (voorsitter, Cathy Kenned (sekretaresse), Julia Floris (hulp-sekretaresse), Wayne Carolissen (kassier) en Heleen Petsch (hulp-kassier).

Die Haven beplan ook 'n opedag vir 26 Oktober en in November gaan hulle op Saldanha kuier.

Koste is R300 elk. Bespreek by 862-1812.

Gesels ook met die skuiling as u boublokke benodig.