Sidmouth Sea Fest to return after two-year Covid hiatus

Sidmouth Sea Fest is set to return this month after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual all-age, one-day festival is free to attend and aims 'to connect the community with everything in, on and by the sea'. It will feature local music, groups, food, entertainment, arts and crafts and more - all in celebration of Sidmouth's unique coastal location.

The main event will take place on Saturday 21 May from 10am to 11pm on the Ham in Sidmouth. There will also be a ticketed fundraiser the night before (Friday 20 May) featuring live bands, DJs, and a bar with local food available.

This year's theme is 'Kelp Our Oceans'. According to event producers, the theme will help to highlight 'the need to take care of our marine environment' due to kelp's carbon-sucking qualities providing 'a glimmer of hope' for the current climate crisis.

The main event on Saturday will begin with Sidmouth Community Choir on the main stage and an early evening show from Sidmouth comedian Goronwy Thom will also be on offer. Two beach cleans are being planned by Sidmouth Plastic Warriors, and the waste will reportedly be analysed by Greenpeace on-site and then up-cycled into art by Clean Jurassic Coast.

Sidmouth Sailing Club will host a Scorpions Championship on the day and there will be a road closure from the Sidmouth Independent Lifeboat Station to the turning circle.

Special guest authors organised by Winstone Books of Sidmouth include Anna Turns, Tracey Williams and local children's authors Jo Earlam and Emily Hobson-Martin.

Sea Fest producers Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub have expressed their thanks to the town council and Visit Sidmouth amongst other sponsors supporting the event.

Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub Director Louise Cole said: "It is exciting to be planning the return of Sea Fest, an event that, like kelp, is important for our ecosystems' wellbeing!

"The feedback we receive about Sea Fest is that it has a brilliant community spirit with plenty for all ages to enjoy. It feels like we all need, after the last two difficult years and with current events as they are, to reconnect and get together to have some time to enjoy the moment." 

Artistic Director Coco Hodgkinson said: "Sea Fest is a shared platform so people can find out about some of the amazing things our community groups are doing whilst nurturing ourselves a little bit - listening to live music, making and creating and having a bite to eat in a creative and relaxed way. 

"The Ham site and the main marquee will add a very visual Kelp tone with local children and young people already involved in creating our seaweed-themed art installations."

Click here to book for the ticketed Friday fundraiser. You can also buy a ticket from Paragon Books on High Street.