A packed menu of appetising treats is on offer in Maryport this weekend at the first Taste of the Sea festival.
This Taste Cumbria event takes place in Maryport on Saturday August 14 and Sunday August 15.
There will be a producers’ market at the top of Senhouse Street keeping shoppers firmly in the town centre, while Shipping Brow will be the location for live music, with shanties from the Port Sunlight Sea Dogs who have performed all over the UK.
Down on the harbour, there will be a hot food court, drinks tent, cookery demonstrations and a picnic field next to the Shiver Me Timbers play area.
There will be a children’s fairground with additional entertainment courtesy of Taste Cumbria favourites Rainbow Jelly Productions. Throughout the town, pubs and eateries will be getting involved too.
Mike Johnson, leader of Allerdale Borough Council, which has organised the event, said: “We hope the whole of Maryport will come out to support the Taste of the Sea festival, and that it will bring visitors from miles around.
“As a council, we are investing in events because we have seen first-hand the benefits they can bring to communities. They are a place for people to get together and explore what’s on their doorstep, but they also have wider effects.
“Back in 2019, before so many things were cancelled at the start of the pandemic, we welcomed 25,000 people to Cockermouth for the flagship Taste Cumbria festival.
“Independent research showed it boosted the local economy by £2.2 million as people ate, drank, shopped and stayed in accommodation nearby.
“We want to see that success replicated all over Allerdale. Businesses have had a terrible time over the last year or so – and it’s been so tough for everyone who has been affected in some way by COVID-19.
“We all need a Taste of the Sea right now as a sign of brighter days to come.
“We know that many people have continuing concerns about coronavirus which is why every event we hold will still have some precautionary measures in place. Come along and enjoy.”
Maryport’s Taste of the Sea event will be followed by the Taste Cumbria festival in Cockermouth on September 25 and 26 then the Taste Cumbria Christmas Festival on December 11 and 12.
This year’s events will be smaller than usual to ensure visitor numbers are manageable, but there will still be plenty of activities taking place – all of them planned carefully with the latest COVID guidance, organisers said.
For more information about any of the Taste Cumbria events, email [email protected]
