PIET MARAIS
The recent Kenton Wellness Festival has once again cemented its place as a cornerstone event for the community, drawing participants eager to explore holistic health and well-being. Far more than just a gathering, the festival is fast becoming a vital component of Kenton’s economic and tourism landscape, championed by resolute individuals who envision a thriving future for the area.
Justin Wilmot of the Kenton Chamber of Business and Tourism views the festival as a strategic necessity. “Wellness Tourism has been growing nationally by 5% per annum,” Wilmot notes, emphasising its significance. “We see Wellness Tourism as a very important part of our strategic plan for the future.” This forward-thinking approach indicates the Chamber’s commitment to nurturing a sector with tangible growth potential. The success of the festival, boasting over fifty events, clearly demonstrates a strong local appetite for wellness-focused initiatives. “There are plans to keep the momentum going,” Wilmot confirms, hinting at year-round support for this burgeoning trend.
The festival’s success is inextricably linked to local business participation. He extended gratitude to all businesses that took part, particularly highlighting the Boesmans Town Hall as “the perfect venue.” The Chamber’s role as a tourism body is to facilitate and promote such events, and Wilmot was quick to commend his office for their invaluable assistance to the organisers. He also expressed immense satisfaction at the public’s enthusiastic support for wellness practitioners, acknowledging them for making the event a vibrant reality.
Kim van Niekerk, wellness practitioners representative who played a vital role in the festival, offered insightful observations on participant engagement. This year, she noticed a remarkable shift: “Participants were more open-minded to explore differing modalities, asked more questions, attended a variety of talks and were amazed by the offerings.” This growing curiosity signals a deeper, more intentional engagement with wellness concepts among attendees.”
Van Niekerk also identified recurring and highly popular themes that resonated with the festivalgoers. “The themes that remain popular are movement and health, menopause and coping, gut health, food and how to cook healthily, creativity and your personal wellness, mindful matters and breathwork,” she detailed. These diverse interests underscore a holistic approach to well-being that spans physical, mental, and creative dimensions.
The festival environment itself plays a crucial role in enhancing wellness practices. Van Niekerk explained that it significantly raises awareness of practices like yoga therapy and sound healing, encouraging individuals “to explore something out of their normal sphere in a safe environment.” This safe space also fosters an environment for questions and empowers attendees to develop their own “at home weekly regimes for their own health.” Crucially, from the local practitioners’ perspective, the festival serves as a vital bridge, encouraging people to join their classes and offerings by building trust between attendee and client. “The 1-1 space and the talks are invaluable to personal wellness thrive plans,” she added, emphasizing the deep impact of these interactions.
For Jo Wilmot, co-founder of the Kenton Wellness Festival and Kenton & Boesmans Tourism consultant, Kenton’s natural surroundings inspired he festival “It lends itself to slow living: to relax, reconnect, and restore. We are also lucky to have amazing local wellness practitioners in the area. As conversations started happening, the idea of a festival took shape naturally—and here we are.”
Her personal experience of the festival was mostly behind the scenes. “I managed to listen to many of the talks and book a few of the offerings for myself. What an incredible experience. It gave me the chance to slow down, reflect, and reconnect—and I learnt so much about myself in the process. Amazing!”
The impact of the festival, she says, is that “it gave us a new story to tell—one about wellness, care, and pride in our place. Local faces were not just included; they were the heart of it.”
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, June 26, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
