Sidmouth’s festival season begins on Friday, May 19 with the first event of Sea Fest 2023.
This year’s theme is Driftwood & Thrift, with a focus on re-using and recycling, making and creating. Driftwood often supports marine biodiversity and thrift is about reducing waste and saving money as well as being a coastal plant.
Sea Fest begins with the Friday Night Fundraiser at the Sea Fest Marquee at the Ham, with music and entertainment, a bar and several food stalls. ‘Thrifting’ tickets are £10 and ‘Gifting’ tickets £15 and available via Eventbrite or from Paragon Books and the Tourist Information Centre.
The main Sea Fest event on Saturday, May 20, which is free, will start at 10am and feature an eclectic mix of art, craft, local groups, music, dance, literature and environmental activities, with entertainment from 11am until 11pm.
Sidmouth Plastic Warriors will lead a lunchtime beach clean and the plastic finds will be analysed on site by Greenpeace and then upcycled into art by Clean Jurassic Coast.
The site will feature art installations including a Thrift planted starfish by Sidmouth in Bloom and a driftwood sea monster sculpture co-created with local young people and artist Dan Wakeman from I Made this.
Many local groups and environmental organisations will be on site along with charity stalls and others offering arts, crafts and storytelling.
The evening entertainment includes Bicycle Ballet, Street Heat, Razzomo, Revolution Roots and The Kabins.
Sea Fest’s organisers, Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub, are very grateful for the support of Sidmouth Town Council/Visit Sidmouth, and a host of other local sponsors.
Businesses in the town are encouraged to get into the Sea Fest spirit and dress their windows or put a special dish on their menu to share the Driftwood & Thrift message. Donations and raffle prizes are also welcome.
Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub Director Louise Cole said: “Sea Fest is known for its community spirit and sense of fun in tandem with a collective sense of commitment to our beautiful natural coastal environment. This has never been more so important than during such challenging times. Our theme reflects this and we are committed to the event being free and fully accessible to all. We hope everyone will turn out to support and enjoy this community social celebration.”
Full details and updates can be found on Sea Fest's Facebook page and Instagram @sidseafest
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