NADINE LAGGAR
The week of Oppikoppi Sweet Thing is upon us and an expected 20 000 festival-goers are preparing to descend upon Northam for their annual hedonism fix. The budgets have been drawn up, checklists have been made and tents, still filled with last year’s dust, are being inspected. In lieu of these preparations, Perdeby has come up with a few titbits that might come in useful.
First time attendees – Oppikoppi virgins as they’ve come to be known – are on the cusp of having their minds blown. It seems, however, that veterans can expect a few surprises as well: the Oppikoppi team have been hard at work constructing an extra stage, named Wesley’s Dome, found between the Skellum and James Phillip stages. There are even a couple of new roads criss-crossing the expanded camping area – a daunting prospect when people already had trouble navigating the smaller area of yesteryear. It was like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube. With vodka.
The festival card has made its second appearance. And some good news for those with money left on their cards from last year. Just stagger over to the mimoneyTM load desk to transfer last year’s leftover funds onto your new card.
Now, it’s quite obvious that besides a complete disregard for the confines of social decorum, everyone is really there for the music. And with a line-up boasting epic international and local artists, the new and expanded entertainment area is going to be put through its paces. There is, however, some alternative entertainment available. Like the 500m naked race on Boomstraat on Saturday. It was going to be a 1000m race, but someone decided that there might be casualties and the distance was promptly decreased – not too shabby when the winner gets free Oppikoppi tickets for 2013. It would probably be a good idea to wear shoes and avoid thorn bushes if you plan on running.
In an effort to encourage planning Perdeby has included a pull-out with a map and line-up in this week’s edition (or see the link below). Lastly, bring jackets, endurance and your happy faces. And adhere to Corné and Twakkie’s second rule, which Perdeby believes still applies: don’t be k*k.
