Pretoria - It all started with childhood memories and a barn, and now it’s being turned into a kind of entertainment centre with a difference – and a healthy one at that.
Three siblings and their mother, herb queen Pamela Cullinan, have set off on a new venture on their Olifantsfontein property just outside Irene.
The Sunlawns Estate farm has been in the Cullinan family for generations. It is a working farm, growing berries, salad leaves, vegetables and organic herbs.
What has become known as The Big Red Barn was the brainchild of Pamela, and the project has been brought to life by her children, Sean, Dominic and Victoria Cullinan, and when you arrive at the family farm, it’s the first thing you see as you start looking for the estate.
The barn was on the neighbouring farm and daughter Victoria can remember how they used to play there as kids. When the farmer decided to dismantle the huge structure, the Cullinan family bought the barn. It was salvaged and Sean served as the brain and the rescontructor of this childhood memory.
What they have done is create something that might rekindle memories for others, too. At the centre is the barn, which has been turned into a beautiful airy space that can host a variety of functions. They also want to develop the restaurant that is currently masquerading as a coffee shop open on Fridays from 1pm and weekends from 7am.
You can enjoy an early morning breakfast or order from their menu for parties. They do children’s parties or any other functions you might come up with.
For youngsters, these can include climbing and swinging on their Acrobranch or playing on the Big Red Barn Pirate Ship, leaping about on a jumping castle or racing around the BMX track.
Trail runners are welcome to use the Big Red Barn cycle tracks for running. The price is R10 person and later in the year they plan to hold trail-running events.
For those unfamiliar with Acrobranch, it’s fast and it’s good family fun. If you haven’t tried the adventure sport everybody is talking about, then it is time to get into the fresh air and swing through the trees.
It’s great for kids and adults and it’s a fantastic activity to build children’s confidence, co-ordination and gross motor skills – and, I suspect, those of clumsy adults too. Remember what we used to call a foefie slide? It reminds me of that and seems like a blast.
Not long in the making, The Big Red Barn is happening and evolving organically. One of the most exciting attractions, especially for those who are culturally interested, is a recent addition to the space.
On a visit to Durban, Pamela saw the controversial elephants that have been in dispute for such a long time between artist Andries Botha and the city fathers who suddenly believed their commissioned elephants represented the IFP.
For Botha it became something much larger – freedom of speech, censorship, the fact that the artist was asked to change his vision from three elephants to the Big Five even if that wasn’t the commission and the artworks were already in progress.
Either way, Pamela felt an affinity and believed she should have one of these beautiful creatures for The Big Red Barn in, where else, Olifantsfontein. She met Botha and from the start they knew they were on a similar ecological and mythical route. She thought she could save one of the Durban elephants but Botha decided he would like to make her one.
“I have to like the people I work for,” Botha says, but he was also charmed by the notion of bringing elephants back to Olifantsfontein.
Botha is hoping the elephants will march across the world in many different forms, and one of these journeys will take place in Paris shortly. “We’re putting them up all over the show to get the message out there.”
But first he’s intent that the Cullinans take ownership of their elephant, even while he and his three apprentice sculptors, Sbu Mazibuko, Ernest Ngcobo and Siya Madlala, were still breathing life into the artwork.
As for those who want to go out to play, it’s about taking it all in, watching this natural playpen develop and grow and making the space your own.
The team is always on the lookout for foodies, functionistas and fun activities as partners. The Red Barn lends itself to so many activities, from special to outdoor events, markets to arts and crafts, kiddies to corporates, restaurants to cooking classes.
They invite you to visit and let your imagination take flight.
Look for The Big Red Barn on the M18, six minutes from Irene Village and 15 minutes from the R21. For more detail, visit www.thebigredbarn.co.za or e-mail [email protected]. - Pretoria News