Swakopmund Festive Fair highlights record number of small businesses

Written By: Lillian Beresford

A record number of more than 75 small businesses took part in the 51st annual Swakopmund Festive Fair this year.

The fair took place from Thursday to Saturday this week.

In an interview on Thursday, Swakopmund Municipality spokesperson Linda Mupupa said among the participants at the fair were stalls offering traditional food and baked goods, as well as a variety of handmade items.

The fair also included live performances.

Vendor Karis Lüdik of Wildflower Gifts and Apparel said she was grateful for the connection between creators and the community that the fair fosters.

“It’s been fantastic. You prepare for the three days, it’s going to be busy, and it exceeds your expectations every year,” she said.

She said she feels fairs like this are improving every year: “I think people are more into supporting small businesses and buying local and handmade and so on than they are [preferring] chain stores. It’s a big change but it’s a change in our favour.”

Madeleine Hough, a visitor from Windhoek, made the fair her first stop since arriving at the coast. “It’s nice to see Swakopmund full like this,” Hough remarked.

Some vendors and visitors said they were happy with what the event has become and excited about what the future holds.

Elzene Coetzee of Beads Party said she is confident about the future of the fair and her business.

“We’ve been coming here for three years. Each year it gets better, because each year my aunty hand-makes [our products]. She comes up with new things, so as the trends are going, everything really does improve,” she said.