Grahamstown is home to people from a wide array of cultural and religious backgrounds, and has a rich heritage of national treasures related to the many historical churches and faith-based institutions. The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George has been a Grahamstown landmark since 1830, and will once again be the hub of Spiritfest, a celebration of the arts in the context of faith, at the National Arts Festival from 20 June – 4 July. 

Spiritfest encompasses various expressions of the Christian faith, accessible to all, through a diverse range of artistic explorations, and also includes opportunities to engage in creative acts of worship. 

The Festival Eucharists, on for the three Sundays of the Festival at 9:30 at the Cathedral, will include Marimba and Choral Masses, with Canon Richard Wyngaard (20 June), Canon Rachel Mash (27 June) and The Bishop of Grahamstown, the Rt Rev Ebenezer Ntlali (4 July). Retiring collections taken will be in aid of the Cathedral Restoration Fund. There will also be a Combined Churches Gospel service on Sunday 27 June at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Hill Street, led by various combined Gospel Groups. 

The Taizé service, a meditative candlelit service with prayers, scripture and songs from the Taizé community in France, led by an instrumental group, is on at 1 July at 17:30-18:30. There will also be opportunity to take time out from the rush to enjoy a 45 minute programme of The Road Less Travelled with scripture readings, classical music, prayer, silence and a liturgical act, on 22 and 24 June at the NG Kerk Building, corner of Hill and Market Streets. 

Acts of worship through music can be enjoyed with the programmes of Festival Praise, St. Michael’s Marimbas, Spot the Tune organ recital with Wilf Stout andSacred Voices for Music with the Cathedral Singers and Friends. 

New at Spiritfest is a Cultural Evening with Olenka and Marco at the Christ Church Hall in Speke Street on 21, 24 and 28 June. This is a family friendly musical evening in a relaxed environment. The programme includes a classical guitar duo, traditional African songs and ngano stories from Zimbabwe with mbira and harp, songs and lullabies with guitar from Brazil and Latin America, Boys in Motion Gospel a cappella, music in the shantu tradition of the Hausa-Fulani and more. Entrance fee is R40, payable at the door. All proceeds go to the feeding project for Nompumelelo pre-school in Joza. 

The Hoërskool Randburg Choir, conducted by Richter Grimbeck, brings Bridge over Troubled Waters to Grahamstown, and the Gospel Africa music programme at Trinity Presbyterian Church is also on from 24 - 27 June in the evenings, with the Celebrate Africa Inaugural Concert on the 26th. 

In Home from Home singer-songwriter Chris Mann, in collaboration with international Afro - fusion band Nia and backing vocalists, premiere songs in the Cathedral, below large-scale images by artist Julia Skeen, with settings by Andrew Tracey. 

The Spiritfest exhibitions include Light and Colour, on at the Christ Church Hall, with interior decorative paintings and portraits by Pierre Botha and unusual ceramic sculptures by Olenka Brutsch. A dialect for hope: Sculpture and photographic images by Duncan Stewart at the Cathedral is centered on a life-size bronze of a small boy asleep holding onto a soccer ball. The sculpture communicates the essence of what personal hope looks like, yet doing so through an unconventional alliance between art and sport in our country. The Cathedral also houses the historic Keiskamma Altarpiece, made by the Keiskamma Art Project in Hamburg. 

Spiritfest will also include daily talks from 11:00 – 12:00 in the Chapter House room in the Cathedral. Rachel Mash will speak on Faith and Climate Change (21 June), Francis Williamson on Shrouded in Enigma: The New Case for the Shroud of Turin (22 June), Ken Matthis on Freud and Christ: The Passion in Psychoanalysis (23 June), Greg Smerdon on The Holy Spirit in the University: The African Enterprise Mission to South African Universities (24 June) and Barbara Stout on A New Song: The Development of Choral Music in Worship from the 13th Century to the Present Day (25 June), with musical illustrations sung by a small choir. 

Festival goers can also take part in the demonstrations of Restoration of Stained Glass by David Manning as well as a tour of Bellringing in the Cathedral Tower. Climb the 65 Cathedral Tower steps to view the oldest of South Africa’s 7 bell towers and see how the bells are rung. Retiring collection will go towards the transport costs needed to enable learners from three local schools to learn to ring. 

The diverse programme of this year’s Spiritfest is again an open invitation for anyone to join in the extravagant expressions of worship and joyful celebration of abundant life through the arts. 

For full festival programme, visit www.nationalartsfestival.co.za Programme at selected Exclusive Books and Standard Bank branches, and Computicket Outlets. Call the Festival hot line for all enquiries – 046 603 1103. Follow us on Twitter @artsfestival or join us on Facebook: facebook.com/nationalartsfestival. The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The Eastern Cape Government, The National Arts Council, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, The Sunday Independent and M Net.