The heritage village of Stanford was founded in 1857, making this year the 160th anniversary of this unique village.

The Heritage Committee of the Stanford Conservation Trust, in partnership with local businesses, volunteers, and with the support of  the Overstrand Municipality, has put together a celebratory programme which highlights  the  history  and heritage of Stanford, from the archaeological  traces of its earliest inhabitants, right up until the present day.

The programme honours the personal stories of locals who are the very ones who have kept Stanford's heritage alive.

The  programme  starts  on  Friday, 22 September with  talks at the Okkie Smuts School Hall, by local archaeologist, Katie Smuts, and her colleague Jenna Lavin, about interesting archaeological  sites  in  the   Overstrand area, followed by Fabio  Todeschini, Emeritus Professor of Architecture at UCT, who is presenting a talk on the sensitivities of development in Stanford’s Conservation Area. Finally, long term Stanfordian, Berni Oberholzer, a Landscape Architect,  will  present  his Stanford Revitalisation Plan, a roadmap for Stanford’s future development, as adopted by the Overstrand Municipality in 2013.

These talks, while of specific interest to local residents and new Stanfordians, will prove of interest to anyone interested in the past, heritage and heritage management.

The talks will be followed by a lively presentation on the life, adventures and misadventures of the man behind the Village’s name, and the evening will be rounded  off with a musical performance at the NGK by Cassia  Mildner (piano) and Micaela Loubser (flute).

Saturday is jam packed with activities.

These activities include boat trips  on  the  Klein  River,  and   a  display  of photographic  competition entries to celebrate Stanford's 160th with selected historic Stanford photographs also on exhibition. 

The monthly Junktique Market will be on all morning in the Tourism  Office courtyard should you  be  in  the  mood  for  some bargain hunting, and the opportunity to take a prized heritage object home with you! 

Saturday  is  ‘Hat’terday  in  Stanford, so make sure you don your  most  colourful  and inventive headgear while you’re at it.

There will be a guided walk to the rock art site on Phillipskop Mountain Reserve, departing from the Tourism Office at 08:30.

Katie Smuts’ archaeology talk will be repeated on Saturday morning, where she will be joined by maritime archaeologist, John Gribble, who will present a talk on local shipwrecks. A locally   produced documentary, Stanford Reflections, in which local residents reflect on their life stories in the Village, will be screened at Okkie Smuts Primary School.

Sunday starts off with an early morning bird walk for the twitchers, after which the guided Heritage Village walk is available again. Once you’ve walked up a hunger, join us on the Market Square. Bring your portable braai, or use one of the communal fires, and show off your braai master skills preparing your favourite braai food.

Sunday will see the river cruises continue all day, and Stanford Reflections will be screened again in the Okkie Smuts hall, where the Stanford photo competition images will be on display.

Monday morning rounds out the weekend’s activities with a Nose-to-Tail walkathon around Stanford. Meet at the corner of Sannie Badenhorst and Sillery Roads to walk your dog around Scenic Stanford and raise funds for Stanford Animal Welfare.

Linger in the village

Stanford invites young and old, locals and visitors to visit Stanford, and celebrate the history and heritage of the village and its people.

Many of the talks and events are free to encourage people to linger in the village. Let's celebrate the spirit of ubuntu on Heritage Day, and enjoy Stanford's heritage together.

Zoom