THERE is just one week to go until a popular seafood festival returns.
The Dorset Seafood Festival is set to return on the weekend of September 11 and 12 and will be held on the Weymouth Peninsular for the first time, having taken place on the harbourside in the past.
The event, which usually attracts around 60,000 visitors, is one of the most celebrated weekends in Weymouth's calendar but was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It will return this year with new features focusing on sustainable fishing and the environmental impact of fishing. Global marine conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) will host a series of speakers providing information on how sustainable fishing can co-exist with conservation.
A free pop-up children's cookery workshop, named 'School of Fish', will make its debut at the festival, where participants will learn how to prepare anything from mackerel pate to curry with flatbread.
Towards the end of the two days, the annual fish auction will take place where guests can bid on local catches to take home. All the money raised will go towards the Fisherman's Mission, a charity providing emergency support as well as practical, financial and emotional care to fisherman and their families.
A programme of live music will entertain crowds with sea shanties, folk music and cover songs and there will be a series of tastings, including sparkling wine tasting sessions with Nyetimber and beer and cheese tasting sessions with Mark Woodhouse from Hall & Woodhouse.
Stuart Cooper, director of the Dorset Seafood Festival, said: "The whole team has been working so hard to ensure this festival delivers what attendees are used to: a great atmosphere, delicious seafood, interesting chef demos, fun for the kids and, of course, a glass or two of Nyetimber.
"With the spotlight often on our beautiful coast, it is hard to always understand how we can eat seafood sustainably, but our new BLUE Seas feature is something we are all proud of.
"Menus are beginning to roll in from the food stall: crab linguine, barbecue lobsters, pearl oysters, mussels, fishcakes, squid and much more will be on offer."
Entry is by ticket only. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.dorsetseafood.co.uk
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