Karina Event

Salon Hecate at Noordhoek Art Point

Salon Hecate | 5 August, Noorhoek Art Point Gallery

We still have cold and wet months ahead, but it feels like winter might be on the wane. That means it’s time for the annual Nurture and Nourish Salon! Which will take place on Tuesday evening, 5 August. And although the way Women’s Month is marketed is problematic, August does turn our thoughts to the human qualities often assigned as “natural” to women — nurturing, co-operation, love in action — and it’s worth celebrating these.

The focus of the Salon will be on poetry: confirmed readers of words of beauty and comfort include poet, photographer, rower and bassonist Liesl Jobson; storyteller, singer and memorist Philippa Kabali-Kagwa; publisher extraordinaire Karina Szczurek; and chronicler of the Deep South, Diane Awerbuck. Fantasy fundi Nerine Dorman will give us a taste of none other than Tolkein’s writings on food, and there’ll be a short story featuring the humble sweet potato and a magical soup.

And yes, there will be homemade soup (vegan)! Paper cups will be provided, but if you remember, please bring your travel mug and a spoon.

This will be a time for warmth and closeness, for beautiful words, tastes and images. We are bitterly mindful of those suffering hunger, thirst and cold at present; this Salon will present a chance to appreciate and give thanks for our many comforts, including those supplied by friends, art, poetry, fynbos and beaches close by; the simple luxuries of boiling a kettle for a hot drink and food in the pantry.

If you are able, it would be much appreciated if you could bring along a tin of food, a jar of jam, spread or peanut butter, or a packet of seasoning or similar to pop into a box to donate to My Father’s House, which feeds two thousand vulnerable and unsheltered adults and children. Visit their website here for more information: https://www.myfathershouse.org.za/

Time: 5.30 for 6, to end at 7pm.

Attendance is free, with soup and wine/juice served. Donations are welcome, but absolutely not obligatory. Vegetarians/vegans are always catered for.

Karina Author, Book, Event

Land | Lines by Shari Daya to be launched at Salon Hecate

We are very excited to welcome this extraordinary debut collection into the world: Land | Lines by Shari Daya. The first time Shari read from it before publication was at Salon Hecate during the Books on the Bay Festival earlier this year, and so it is only fitting to launch the actual book at Salon Hecate’s home, the wonderful Noordhoek Art Point Gallery, where all the arts meet and mingle, during the next Salon which will be taking place on Tuesday, 6 August.

Join us in a celebration of this exquisite poetry collection and the beauty of the space that is Noordhoek Art Point’s Salon Hecate!

Karina Author, Book, Event

Catching the wave with Byron Loker at Salon Hecate

Following the enormous success of last year’s “Surf’s Up” reading by local surfer-authors-poets, Salon Hecate at the Noordhoek Art Point Gallery is returning with another fabulous line-up of surf literature the first Tuesday evening in June. We’ll be launching the re-issue of Byron Loker’s short story collection, New Swell, and getting a teaser taste of his brand-new collection, Heavy Water, forthcoming from Karavan Press. Byron is one of “Nature’s gentlemen”, a surfer who never drops in and shares not only the backline, but the limelight. He asked if others could get on board too, so … check out the entire line-up here:

Catching the wave at Salon Hecate

Date and Time

Please join us at the Noordhoek Art Point Gallery on 4 June, 5.30 for 6. Entrance is free, but PLEASE RSVP by 1 June at the latest. Otherwise we run the risk *gasp* of running out of wine. Small snacks provided.

Got a question about this event or interested in a particular piece you’ve seen at Noordhoek Art Point? Get in touch at info@noordhoekartpoint.co.za or call 0835642493.

Karina Author, Book, Event

Salon Hecate’s 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday, Salon Hecate!

Last night, writers, readers and other creatives descended on Noordhoek Art Point to celebrate Salon Hecate’s 1st Birthday. It has been a year of inspiring artistic gatherings. Thank you to Helen Moffett and the Art Point team for everything that you are doing for the community! We all look forward to many more years of Salon Hecate.

Karina Author, Event

Surf’s up at Salon Hecate in June

Photo by Stephen Symons

June is World Ocean Month, and to celebrate the sea and beaches integral to South Peninsula life (and so beautifully represented on the walls of the gallery), Salon Hecate at the Noordhoek Art Point Gallery is presenting something different this coming month: surfer-poets. What better way to celebrate the sea than by hearing from those who spend their spare time in and on the waves? So we’ve invited some fabulous surfers, sailors, and stand-up paddlers who also happen to be published authors to come and read their poems and passages about the sea.

Who’s reading?

You’ll hear from surfer-poets Justin Fox, Byron Loker, Stephen Symons and Melissa Volker. There may be one or two more surprise performers (there are quite a few creative surfers – or should that be surfing creatives? – in the ‘hood). We’ll keep you updated.

Justin Fox travels (and writes about it) for a living. The former editor of Getaway Magazine, he has published over twenty books, ranging from fiction to photography to art to children’s books to poetry, but always returning to the ocean horizon. He still finds time to surf and sail.

Byron Loker is a freelance writer and filmmaker, with a Masters in Creative Writing from UCT. His prescribed collection of short stories, New Swell, explores the corners of our local neighbourhood and celebrates his love of surfing.

Stephen Symons is a poet, academic, historian, graphic designer, husband and father (not necessarily in that order), who has won national and international awards for his poems and published research. He writes about his many passions, including surfing and the sea.

Melissa (Missy) Volker is an author, beautician, SUP prizewinner and surfer, who takes pride in teaching her daughters to stand up for themselves in the backline. This from her publisher’s website: “Melissa found a way to obsess about surfing – by obsessing about writing about surfing! A mid-life blooming writer and water woman, Melissa’s delicious fiction blends ‘surf noir’ with ‘environmental romance suspense.’”

Newsflash: we’ve just heard that Glen Thompson, local surf historian who looks at “the role of black surfers and female surfers in shaping today’s wavescape” will be joining us too. Not to be missed!

Date and time

Please join us at the Noordhoek Art Point Gallery on 5 June, 5.30 for 6. Entrance is free, we’re always prepared for loadshedding, and there will be a glass of wine to warm you.

Surf Therapy collections

We’ll be collecting gently used wetsuits, swimwear, reef booties, rash vests, boogie boards and even towels on the night, so please look around for any gear you’re no longer using. These will be handed over to volunteers from the Roxy Davis Foundation, an NPO that provides surf therapy for children with disabilities. Read more about the inspiring work they do here: roxydavisfoundation.org/surf-therapy

Got a question about this event or interested in a particular piece you’ve seen at the gallery? Get in touch with us at info@noordhoekartpoint.co.za or call 0835642493.
Karina Author, Book, Event

Salon Hecate launched at Noordhoek Art Point

SALON HECATE was launched Noordhoek Art Point last night. Art lovers from across the peninsula gathered to celebrate the new space which will welcome readings, book signings and discussions throughout 2023 and beyond.

Thank you to the gallery and Helen Moffett for welcoming writers into this exciting place of co-existence between the visual arts and literature.

Melissa A. Volker and Stephen Symons, among others, read from their works and I read from one of the stories included in Let It Fall Where It Will by Lester Walbrugh because Lester was baking Grabouw Bread between insane bouts of loadshedding and could not make it to the launch (it was an honour to step into his literary shoes for a few minutes).