Upon arrival, the visitor could be in any 19th century English university town. Victorian houses, Gothic cathedrals, settler cottages and old English pubs help stage-manage the illusion. The erstwhile 1820 Settlers Monument squats in monolithic sandstone above the city, much like Edinburgh Castle. There are other similarities between this African festival city and its more famous European cousin. Known as the City of Saints for its many churches, the High Street is dominated by the Cathedral of St. Michael and St George.
Prickly pears come a close second.
Pineapples and prima donnas may seem a strange brew but for ten heady days in July the rustle of books and tussle of harvest is upstaged by greasepaint and sequins. Here, upon this historical battleground, Europe and Africa collide, in a jarring, jostling, jamboree of Africa's past and present. Here, too, the future is being forged. Don't expect to get much sleep. The Festival began in 1974 with sixty-four items including Shakespeare's King Lear, the ballet, Romeo and Juliet, the opera, Cosi Fan Tutti and the prophetically entitled settler play, Take Root or Die.