Scallops, Sunshine and Sparkling Wine
The UK’s top seafood festival offers something for all the family!
The Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival is the UK’s largest free-to-attend seafood festival. Drawing crowds of over 50,000 people, it is home to the top names in seafood producers, chefs, and fishermen from Dorset and across the country. The Festival’s ethos is to gain a better understanding of the coast, the issues of sustainable fishing, and the environmental impact. As well as raising awareness, the Festival raises funds for the Fishermen’s Mission, a charity close to the heart of the Festival and its attendees that’s a vital port of call for fishermen and their families during difficulties they face.
Laura Avant, Dorset Seafood Festivals Ltd Director, commented: “It will soon be July and we can’t wait to see Weymouth’s beautiful harbour come alive with visitors here to enjoy all that the Festival has on offer. We have a packed weekend full of the most delicious seafood, the best chefs creating incredible seafood dishes, more music than ever before, and so much fun for the children, including ‘I am Turtle’ at Weymouth Pavilion. This is the debut festival for our title sponsor, Nyetimber, and we are so thrilled to pop open the English sparkling wine this summer.”
Key highlights for 2019 include:
Nyetimber — Ensuring the perfect pairings with the local seafood, Nyetimber is on hand to provide the finest glass of English sparkling wine. Why not enjoy a glass of England’s finest sparkling wine onboard The Nyetimber? A beautifully reimagined 1968 Routemaster bus which offers a luxurious, quintessentially British setting from which guests can relax and admire both the harbour and the award winning beach.
Available wines: Classic Cuvee Multi-Vintage – 75cl and Magnum, Blanc de Blancs 2013 – 75cl, Rosé Multi-Vintage – 75cl , Cuvee Chérie Multi Vintage – 75cl (a Demi-Sec cuvee), Tillington Single Vineyard 2013 – 75cl, Nyetimber 1086 Vintage 2009 – 75cl, Nyetimber 1086 Rosé Vintage 2010 – 75cl
The Seafish marquee — Seafish’s mission is to support a profitable, sustainable and socially responsible future for the seafood industry. Discover seafood demos from some of the best chefs in town, along with Seafish’s campaign, ‘Fish 2 a week’, which aims to inspire more people across the country to eat two fish dishes per week. #2aweek
I am Turtle — The Makeshift Ensemble will be performing their family show, ‘I am Turtle’, at Weymouth Pavilion as part of the festival. The Dorset-based company, who tour their celebrated shows for all ages across the UK, promise Sea Turtle puppets, wonderful live music, a beautiful story, and an important message about plastic use and what we can all do to take care of the oceans. This event is free to attend, please keep an eye on the festival website.
The Kids Zone — is a family workshop and creative zone where kids are encouraged to get stuck in and make fantastically fishy creations with Bella Ceramics. Plus face painting and crabbing too.
Music — This year’s enhanced programme features more music than ever before! Follow the Festival via its social media channels to keep up to date with the latest information.
Crab — Always keen to highlight the importance of sustainability, the Festival is focusing on brown crab, also known as ‘edible crab’. Fishing around the Dorset Coast is concentrated during the period March–October, with many small vessels targeting brown crab and lobster during the summer months. Over 500 tonnes of Brown crab are landed in Weymouth every year, at a value of around £1 million pounds.
Creative Director of ‘I am Turtle’, Jacqueline Avery, comments: “We thoroughly look forward to being part of the Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival for the first time this year. We are excited to immerse you in some fabulous storytelling theatre; you can meet Great Uncle Archie and Pocket — our two Sea Turtle Puppets, and learn all about how to look after their home.”
Make sure this year’s Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival is firmly in your diary. It won’t be long until you are basking in the glory of delicious seafood, a glass of cold Nyetimber in hand, whilst soaking up the atmosphere! A perfect day out for all the family.
Sponsors this year include: Nyetimber, Seafish, Badger Beers, Weird Fish, Dream Cottages, Waterside Holiday Group and the Aster Group.
The Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival is set to take place over the weekend of 13th and 14th July, along Weymouth’s historic and picturesque harbour. The award-winning event, now in its 12th year, is free to attend and offers over 100 stalls of seafood, chef demos, children’s activities and delicious English sparkling wine.