The rules may have tightened since someone lit a "zol" from a flame sticking out of festival-goers bums years ago, but the Up The Creek music festival has still got its spark. Like most things nowadays, administrators and bean counters have found ways to curb eccentricity in favour of profits and pleasing sponsors, but this feisty little festival does not completely conform.This past weekend about 3000 "Creekers" made their way to sleepy Swellendam in the Western Cape, where the party has been happening annually on the banks of - and in - the Breede River just outside town for the past 25 years.Founder and director of Up The Creek, Anthony Bumstead, celebrated his 40th birthday at the inaugural edition of the festival, where a tradition called the "Flaming A" was started."It was a tradition that sort of started in the river days and it escalated," Bumstead, whose daughter escaped a head-on collision en route to the festival with minor injuries last weekend, recounted."We did it every year where three or four guys would get naked and they would have this burning ember [in their butts]. It's called a Flaming A, the A is for arsehole, and they would light it and come jumping across the stage. But we nearly set fire to the entire main stage a couple of years ago so we stopped it."A quarter of a century since it started, the Up The Creek festival is securely located on the musical map, and has gained a dedicated following of music lovers and big-name sponsors.And while the "Flaming A" tradition might have died out, the festival has certainly not lost its spark.With four days of musical and comedic talent, food stalls and coffee bars, a tented village of festival goers and a long, winding river, Up The Creek is connected to the local landscape, in a dappled riverside farm.One of the three dance floors is the river itself, where hundreds of Creekers drift on an array of floatable contraptions in front of the riverside stage. The competition for the best floating device attracted a pizza float, a blow-up catamaran and a boat crafted out of jerry cans, pipes and fabric equipped with a minibar and braai.A small, dedicated following of older-citizen Creekers confirms that the festival has not lost its flavour. Sporting tie-dyed trousers and sparkling hats, it's easy to imagine them holding down suited, nine-to-five CEO positions back in the city.Up The Creek also sticks to its philosophy of showcasing up-and-coming local talent. Recently formed indie rock band Slow Jack beat out a few more seasoned performers, including The Black Cat Bones and December Streets, to bag one of the prime Saturday-night slots at the festival.www.upthecreek.co.za..