Swanage Fish and Food festival in Dorset, is about to turn 10 years old – and has a shoal of new ideas to help celebrate such a special anniversary!
Taking place on Sandpit Field from Saturday 21st to Sunday 22nd June 2025, the festival is expanding with a new artisans centre for crafters, food to satisfy a wider range of tastes, and popular cooking demonstrations with some of Dorset’s most accomplished chefs.
Swanage Fish and Food Festival’s new artwork reflects the much loved village fete feel
Another step in its evolution
There will also be a full weekend programme of music from sea shanties to jazz, with artists including Sea Fury, Kelp, Swanage Jazz Machine, Andrew Cannon, Keith Lockett and many more.
Organisers are hoping to avoid the unseasonal weather which caused the festival in 2024 to be postponed in June and moved to August.
Heavy rain and strong winds put paid to the midsummer festival, which was then held at Prince Albert Gardens, where slippery slopes would have made the event unsafe.
Prince Albert Gardens is the spiritual home of the festival – but times move on
Much loved fixture in a packed calendar
Although Caroline Finch, one of the original organisers of the fish festival, feels that Prince Albert Garden will always be its spiritual home, she sees it as another step in its evolution into the hugely popular event it is today.
Caroline Finch said:
“We have achieved so much together over the last decade, growing the event into a much loved fixture in Swanage’s packed festival calendar.
“We originally set up the fish festival as an event out of the main holiday season, to bring more footfall to Swanage and to support local traders.
“As it went so well we did it again – but there have been problems along the way, including Covid and that fact that our first home, Prince Albert Gardens – which we love – was not very good for inclement weather, you can’t get trailers on and off the field when it’s wet.
“We are trying the Sandpit Field in June for the first time, which is when we always aim to hold the festival, and we will see how it goes.
“It has allowed us to expand slightly, but it wasn’t an easy decision to move – we do miss Prince Albert Gardens, which will always be the spiritual home of our fish festival!”
Small committee, huge success – from left, Lindsay Bish, Caroline Finch, Jackie Lane, Adam Clarke, Dee Baron and Lyn Whaley
“We do it because we love it!”
Caroline added:
“The festival is run entirely by volunteers – there used to be seven of us, now there are eight, and we could really do with some more, younger, people on our committee.
“But we do it because we love it, and because our community deserves it. It is still one of the few free entry festivals in the area, it has really flourished where other towns like Wimborne and Weymouth have struggled with theirs, and we still make donations every year to our three chosen charities.
“We raised £4,000 for Swanage Lifeboat, Swanage NCI Station and The Fishermen’s Mission in 2024, despite the problems we had with the weather, thanks to the unwavering support of everyone involved with the festival.
“We’re proud to be known for our village fete vibe, celebrating the very best in local food, drink, music and creativity, all with a warm, welcoming atmosphere for the whole family – and we have some surprises in store for our 10th anniversary party weekend!”
Moonigooni Glass is one of a dozen exhibitors in the new Artisan Tent
Little Fishes is a popular corner of the festival for young visitors to try their hands at crafts and games
Brand new Artisan Tent
Swanage Fish Festival was originally set up in 2015 by a small group of fish loving friends to encourage people to enjoy the town’s wonderful location and its local fish, food, drink and crafts.
It has stayed true to that vision and still has stalls offering a huge variety of fish, cockles, mussels, scallops, but rebranded in 2024 as Swanage Fish and Food Festival to provide a greater choice of foods on offer as an alternative to fish.
This year, that includes Thai, Mexican and Spanish dishes – all produced locally – as well as Dorset wines too, as Bride Valley Wines from Litton Cheney joins the festival for the first time.
The brand new Artisan Tent brings together the best in local crafting, art and food specialists, which we think sits perfectly alongside the gourmet foods and vibrant atmosphere of the festival.
Younger visitors will once again be able to visit the popular Little Fishes area with a selection of fish themed crafts and games to keep them busy.
Julia Noone of Swanage Bay Fish will once again host cookery masterclasses at the festival
Cookery demos every hour
The hugely popular cookery demonstrations will run hourly through the weekend, starting on both days with Swanage’s own Julia Noone, who comes from a long established fishing family in Kimmeridge and brings generations of knowledge from sustainable fishing methods to expert prep tips and tasty recipes.
Other guest chefs include Eric Olinet of the Black Swan, James Shadbolt from Pig on the Beach, Marek Ludwin of the Grand Hotel, Giuseppe Sinaguglia of the Olive Tree Cookery School and expert chocolatier Claire Burnet of Chococo.
The 10th anniversary festival will be officially opened by Swanage town mayor Mike Bonfield, who will be cutting a specially made cake in the shape of a whale.
And raffle tickets will be on sale through the weekend for a draw with some amazing 10th anniversary prizes – with the aim being to raise more money than last year for the festival’s three charities.
The Fishermen’s Mission receiving a cheque from Jackie Lane, is one of three maritime charities the festival supports
“So important when you live by the sea”
Caroline Finch explained:
“After one festival, a lady came up to me and said that one day, when she was living in East Anglia with an 18 month old baby, her husband went to sea as a fisherman and didn’t come back.
“But she told me how the Fishermen’s Mission was always there for her, paying her bills, bringing round nappies for the baby and looking out for her until she was able to get herself back on her feet.
“They are a charity that not many people know a lot about, but they are always there when you need them, and that story gave me a reason to keep the festival going.
“We also support the Swanage Lifeboat and Swanage Coastwatch, which are so important when you live by the sea – the water is beautiful and gives us food, but it can also be treacherous and these people are there giving their time and risking their lives to keep us safe.”
The Sea Fury shanty singers will be among a wide variety of entertainers over the festival weekend
Further information
- More details of the weekend are on the Fish and Food Festival website
