Sidmouth’s first festival of the year, Sea Fest, will be a day of free marine-themed entertainment and environmental activities at the Ham on Saturday, May 21.
The festival, with the theme of ‘Kelp Our Oceans’, has been organised by the Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub. Art illustrating the topic has been created by Year 7 students at Sidmouth College, who learned about the biodiverse contribution that kelp provides for animals and plant life, and their work will be on display at Sea Fest.
Before the main event, there will be a fundraising evening on Friday, May 20 in the main marquee at the Ham, with live music, DJs, the Prawn Cocktail Bar and food stalls. Tickets for the Friday Fundraising Party Night are available online from Eventbrite or from Paragon Books.
On Saturday, there will be arts and crafts, music, dance, literature and environmental activities, starting at 10am and continuing into an evening of entertainment, bands and DJs, ending at 11pm.
The entertainment on the main stage will begin with Sidmouth Community Choir, followed by a series of other acts including Jurassix, the Street Heat Samba Band and Sidmouth’s own Goronwy Thom, well known for his street comedy shows.
Art activities will feature Steve McCracken, creator of the Sid the Seagull paste-ups, who will be creating a special display on the Sidmouth Wallspace billboard in the run-up to the festival. Something Lovely pottery painting and the Thelma Hulbert gallery will be on site on the Saturday.
The Literary Zone will showcase guest authors organised by Winstone Books, including Anna Turns, author of Go Toxic Free, and Tracey Williams, author of Adrift - the Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea, along with local children’s authors Jo Earlam (Tuamor the Turtle) and Emily Hobson-Martin (Otto’s Ocean).
Two beach cleans are being planned for the Saturday by Sidmouth Plastic Warriors. The waste will be analysed by Greenpeace on site and then upcycled into art by Clean Jurassic Coast. Sidmouth Sailing Club will be hosting a Scorpions Championship.
There will also be yoga, storytelling for children, and stalls selling food and drink. To keep up to date with the plans, visit the Sidmouth Sea Fest Facebook page and @sidseafest Instagram.
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