Despite challenging weather conditions, Swanage Fish and Food Festival finally went ahead in a new location over the August bank holiday weekend – and organisers were delighted with the outcome.
The festival had already been postponed from its original dates in mid June at Prince Albert Gardens, Swanage, thanks to forecasts of heavy rain and gusting wind which would have made setting up stalls impossible on the sloping field.
All through a soggy Saturday, picnic benches in the centre of Sandpit Field were full of feasting families
And even when the heavens opened, some hardy souls refused to move!
A second chance to stage the event
But Swanage Town Council came to the rescue with a second chance to stage the festival on Sandpit Field on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August 2024, which turned out to be a huge success.
Despite steady rain through Saturday morning, a short but torrential downpour in the afternoon and windy conditions on Sunday, Swanage supported the festival magnificently and all stallholders reported a bumper weekend of takings.
A decision to expand the festival to include types of food other than just fish paid off handsomely as pizza stalls, burger vans, Mexican cuisine and even Tibetan street food all reported record takings.
And sponsored picnic benches in the middle of Sandpit Field were completely full at times, some foodies even refusing to move when the heavy rain arrived.
Catch of the day from Swanage Bay Fish provided the best in local seafood
Cooking demonstrations were under cover, seated and very popular
“Challenging setup, but we soldiered on”
Fish and Food festival spokesperson Jackie Lane said:
“Saturday was very wet and Sunday was very windy, but we still had a great weekend. It was hard work, with a challenging setup on Saturday, but we soldiered on.
“We have a great team of inspiring, loyal volunteers and some volunteers who only joined last week but without whom the festival wouldn’t have happened, and we are very grateful to them all.
“We had new stallholders who joined us for the first time and other long-standing loyal stallholders who come back to us year after year.
“They were pretty despondent on Saturday morning, thinking it would be quite tough to get their pitch fee back, but I spoke to all the stallholders when they left and they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves, had a bumper weekend and all want to come back next year.”
Julia Noone held a lively demonstration of how to fillet fresh fish
Eric Olinet of the Black Swan in Swanage showed how to produce amazing dishes from the kitchen
Constant crowd of hundreds
The festival is free to enter, so organisers have no way of telling how many people came, but did report a constant crowd of hundreds on the field through the weekend.
Seating was introduced for the first time for the popular chef demonstrations, although the number of chefs taking part was limited as their own eateries through Swanage were rushed off their feet for the weekend.
But master fishmonger Julia Noone of Swanage Bay Fish, Eric Olinet from the Black Swan, Marek from the Grand Hotel, Christian from Sat Co, Chris Fry from The Narrows and Claire Burnet from Chococo drew large crowds to watch them at work.
Dorset’s Purple Parrots steel drum band brightened up a dull Saturday morning
Singer guitarist Tim Lacey entertained visitors to Sandpit Field
A touch of the Caribbean
Musical entertainment began on Saturday with Dorset steel band the Purple Parrots bringing a touch of the Caribbean to a slightly soggy morning, followed by singer guitarist Tim Lacey, singer Terri O’Callaghan, guitarist Henry Bristow and the Sea Fury shanty group.
On Sunday, there was the return of Andrew Cannon with the Swanage Jazz Machine, Old Hat, Eynsford-Hill, Bruce Evans and Kelp, the Swanage sea shanty group.
With a dedicated children’s area, Little Fishes, to entertain younger visitors, fishy craft stalls and of course fresh fish, cockles, mussels, scallops, crabs and oysters to try, the festival was a huge success.
Pantastic paella provided a wonderful way to warm up in the rain
First time visitors to Swanage tempted tastebuds with Tibetan street food
“Sandpit Field a fantastic venue for us”
Fish and Food festival spokesperson Jackie Lane said:
“Sandpit Field turned out to be a fantastic venue for us and we hope to be back here next June.
“It was quite a learning curve for us and there are things we will do differently next time with the layout and the number of stalls, but we couldn’t have set up on Prince Albert Gardens in the rain we had on Saturday morning.
“We said a massive thank you to our many stallholders for sticking it out on Saturday! We know how hard it was to set up in the horrendous rain and be ready to provide the most delicious foods and drinks for everyone to enjoy.”
Sicilian glass fish – an unusual gift idea which drew a lot of interest
Younger visitors to the festival were kept entertained at Little Fishes
“We have such a loyal following”
Jackie added:
“Even though we had a torrential downpour on Saturday afternoon, when I thought all our visitors would leave, everyone stayed and even more came in afterwards. It really was heartwarming, we have such a loyal following in the town.
“Next year is our 10th anniversary, so we are looking to do something special on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June 2025, and we have already started an application to come back to Sandpit Field – let’s hope the weather is kinder to us next year!”
In September, the festival committee will hold a thank you event at Cumulus Outdoors for sponsors and a cheque presentation to its chosen charities the Fisherman’s Mission, Coastwatch, Swanage Lifeboat and the Musicians Union.
One of the festival’s chosen charities, Swanage Coastwatch
A slow start to the festival weekend quickly turned into a well attended success
The Coastguard search and rescue team was at the festival to explain how they help keep Swanage safe
Further information
- More photos from the event are on the Festival’s Facebook page
