A celebration of the sea will be held in St Bees next month.
SeaFest, organised by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, is a family fun day which aims to celebrate marine wildlife and sustainable seafood.
It returns to the beach at St Bees on Saturday August 6 from 10am to 4pm.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust will be joined by top local chefs giving seafood tasters and cooking demonstrations and activities include beach yoga and meditation, arts and crafts, rockpool rambles, guided birdwatching and dolphin surveys, a wildflower and pollinator BioBlitz, plus the famous annual sand sculpture competition.
SeaFest organiser Lucy Mather, project officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “This year’s SeaFest is even bigger and better than before. This year for the first time we’re running paddle-sports tasters, storytelling sessions, and musical performances from local community groups.
“You can get creative with sand sculptures, explore the little critters found in rockpools or relax with some chilled yoga and meditation. The festival is a great chance for us to celebrate the amazing wildlife found in the Irish Sea and for foodies, we’ll have some great demonstrations and tasters, showing how we can enjoy cooking and eating seafood in a way that respects the amazing seabed habitats on our coast.”
The Beached Art Sand Sculpture competition starts at 10.30am, with judging at 12.30pm, at low tide.
Prizes for the winners include membership to Whinlatter and Grizedale Forest, and family tickets for Maryport Aquarium, The Beacon and The Rum Story museums, Maryport Clip n’ Climb, and Derwentwater and Coniston cruises, with more still to be confirmed.
People need to book in advance for the competition, but lots of other events are drop-in.
Guided walks will also be available to see seabirds nesting on the cliffs at St Bees.
For more details about SeaFest and to book a pitch for Beached Art, go to https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2022-08-06-seafest-west-cumbrias-festival-sea
