“What exactly is Spirit of the Sea?”
The easy answer is that it’s the Weymouth and Portland maritime festival, a celebration of everything that our seaside location has to offer. But that doesn’t really answer the question. What you want to know is what Spirit looks like, feels like and smells like (and there’s plenty of all of those). How would you recognise Spirit of the Sea if you were to wander along the quay side and happen across it?
I mean, it’s not as if you can miss the Dorset Seafood Festival. All those stalls brimming with shellfish, the glistening silver of today’s catch, the sights and smells of freshly cooked delicacies. Celebrity chefs mingling with fishermen and food enthusiasts to create a distinctive buzz around our busy harbour. The Seafood Festival is unmistakeable.
Walking on a short way you’d soon realise that the culinary market had given way to music. For nine days last year, Beach Live celebrated an array of musical traditions on its seafront stage. Act after vibrant act entertained the holiday crowds with funk, punks, covers and original material.
So you know what Beach Live and the Dorset Seafood Festival look like. Well, that’s also what Spirit of the Sea looks like. Because both these events, and a host of others that happen in Weymouth and Portland around the same time, are all part of Spirit.
So to answer the question: “What is Spirit of the Sea?” It’s an incredible nine days of celebration packed with regattas, shows, fairs, taster days, music and loads more. Each event has its own identity and organisers: Weymouth Through Time, Schools’ Beach Festival, Haunted Harbour Tour, Marinex (now the Dorset Leisure & Watersports Show) to name but a few. And they’re all grouped together into the nine days called Spirit of the Sea.
If you have any more questions about Spirit of the Sea – how you can help, or how your event or group could be part of it – we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or email us at enquiries@spiritofthesea.org.uk. Spirit of the Sea 2011 is on 2nd-10th July. It’s going to be fantastic!
Visit Spirit of the Sea for more information.
