| Summary: | Within a burgeoning international festival scholarship South Africa emerges as a major ‘growth pole’ in the
literature. It is in this context of vibrant international and local debates that the article offers a modest contribution
on a little researched aspect of festival development in South Africa. The focus is upon festive cities and the
evolution, management and organizational adaptation of one distinctive cultural festival which is a celebration of
German culture in South Africa. The case study is of the evolution and change of the Deutsche Internationale
Schule Johannesburg Schulbasar. Within the literature on festival tourism the case study is distinctive because of
its history which dates back to 1905 as well as the fact that the institutional organisation of this festival is
undertaken by the school as a major fundraising initiative. The organisation of this festival linked to school
management which undertook a number of adaptations to how the festival was organised whilst constantly seeking
to retain its central objectives of highlighting German traditions. Arguably, the greatest challenge in the over 100
years of the Schulbasar’s existence has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which changed the festival
from a physical event to a virtual event part of which involved a charity fundraising drive.
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