How you can still celebrate Seafest this Saturday

An art installation, storytelling, a choir performance and a talk by a bestselling author – all with a marine theme - are on offer this Saturday, May 22.

The planned public activities for Sidmouth Seafest had to be cancelled because it would have been impossible to generate its 'wonderful community atmosphere' within Covid guidelines.

But the spirit of Seafest will be communicated through the arts installation alongside the Ham, and videos posted on the Facebook page of the Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub.

There's also the chance to join the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors for a beach clean.

The theme of this year's Seafest is 'Rockpools, Reefs and Reconnecting' – and this will be reflected in the art and the virtual events.

Louise Cole, Director of Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub, said: "The theme reflects our mission to reconnect people to value the coast and sea now and in the future, and to celebrate as a community our amazing coastal location with all the gifts it brings us.

"In the face of such extraordinary challenging times we are committed to doing what we can to bring a smile, have a bit of fun and to involve people in what we do."

The artwork will be a temporary art exhibition produced by Sidmouth School children, displayed in the community garden border area next to the Ham. Photos of it will be posted on the Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub Facebook page.

Between 10am and 11am, videos of Sidmouth storyteller Janet Dowling will be posted on the page, recorded in the Coastal Community Hub's new venue, the Fishermen's Shed.

A Zoom performance of the Coral Reef Song from Sidmouth Sea Fest Community Choir will be posted at 1pm.

Help clean up Sidmouth beach

Meanwhile, between 10am and noon, there's the chance to join the beach clean event, titled 'Get Sidmouth Set for Summer'.

Sidmouth Plastic Warriors say: "Without a clean beach Sidmouth will struggle to recover, and we all need to do our bit."

People taking part can meet at the Esplanade near Jurassic Paddle Sports at 10am – or they can choose to start at their own homes or in the town centre, picking up litter as they make their way to the beach.

If you're joining the beach clean, remember to wear gloves, use a picker, maintain social distancing, and not to pick up anything sharp or potentially contaminated such as discarded face masks – tell the organisers and they'll inform the district council's Streetscene team.

For more information contact [email protected].

Join Dr Helen Scales for a fantastic talk about the sea

Then, at 7pm, there's the opportunity to join an online in-conversation event with Dr Helen Scales who will be talking about her new book The Brilliant Abyss – which tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea – how we imagine, explore and exploit it.

This event has been arranged specially for Sidmouth Seafest.

Dr Scales said: "I'm so excited to be taking part in Sidmouth Sea Fest in this way.

"Humanity's connections with the ocean run deep, seeping into places most of us will never see for ourselves, but where great wonders lie that breathe life into the whole planet.

"My aim as a writer is to transport readers into the deepest reaches of the oceans, to find out what lives there and see why it matters to us all, and perhaps to conjure new imaginings of what else might be there still to discover."

The talk is a collaboration with Winstones Books, Sidmouth, and there's an option to buy a copy of the book with your ticket for the talk – the book can be collected from the shop or posted to you.

For more information and to book a ticket (£5 for the talk only, with proceeds to Sidmouth Seafest), click here.