Get ready for Seafest! Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council have teamed up once again to bring back this popular weekend festival to celebrate and connect the sea and the city.

Seafest, being held this year on Saturday 13^th and Sunday 14^th September, combines Plymouth’s extraordinary maritime heritage, sustainability, with good music and a variety of top-quality themed entertainment resulting in a celebration of the city’s connection to the sea.

Visitors can take part in a range of activities including swim sessions, SCUBA, snorkelling, paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing tasters, delve into the city’s nautical past and discover how everyone can contribute to becoming marine stewards in the local environment. The Plymouth Sound National Marine Park Horizons project has been made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players with £11.6million of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This year’s Seafest welcomes the return of the live cookery demo stage, where locally renowned chefs and business owners, will show off their culinary skills by creating their favourite recipes using freshly caught sustainably sourced ingredients to inspire visitors to try something new in their own kitchens.

Kim Downer, interim CEO, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership:

“Seafest is one of PWP’s annual flagship events and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council again this year. Events like this really show off our waterfront and the wide range of businesses we have here in the BID [Business Improvement District].

Seafest is fun and inspiring, with something for everyone to ‘sea’, do and get involved in.”

Elaine Hayes, CEO, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park:

“Seafest is a great opportunity to connect people with the incredible natural and cultural heritage of Plymouth Sound. It brings our National Marine Park to life by offering new experiences, inspiring stewardship of our marine environment and celebrating the deep-rooted relationship between our city and the sea. We’re proud to be part of an event that makes the ocean accessible, exciting and relevant to everyone.”

Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Events, Plymouth City Council:

“Plymouth is incredibly proud of its connection with the sea. It’s so exciting to see this event grow and expand right across the waterfront with family-fun and delicious food for all to enjoy. Seafest celebrates Plymouth’s connection to the sea in a fun and inspiring way, with discounted activities across the waterfront all weekend, it’s a brilliant way for people to try something new. There are so many ways to get involved, from water sports including SCUBA sessions and paddleboarding, or exploring the historic coastline at Mount Edgcumbe”.

Seafest’s final schedule of activities, sessions and demos is being added to regularly in the lead up to the September weekend. Some of the confirmed key highlights so far include:

• Plymouth Sound National Marine Park Anchor Sites including Mount Batten, Tinside and Mount Edgcumbe will have a range of free and nominal charge activities across the Seafest weekend including water sports sessions, 90p swim sessions for all (to celebrate the Lido’s 90^th anniversary), open house tours and self-guided tours of the Mount Batten Tower.
• Outdoor cinema with Seafest presents: The Tinside Motion Picture Show across the Friday (12^th), Saturday and Sunday with films including Finding Nemo and The Salt Path.
• The 45^th J/24 World Championship culminates on Sunday 14^th September with J class sailors from around the world competing for the coveted title. Bought to the city by Plym Yacht Club, Saltash Sailing Club and the UK J/24 Class Association with support from Yacht Havens Group and the Port of Plymouth Sailing Association, the fleet will look spectacular in the Sound between 6^th and 14^th September. Spectators can get close to the action with special sailing trips on board The Island Trust’s Johanna Lucretia during the championship.
• The Whale with Circo Rum Ba Ba – bold explorers crawl on all fours and squeeze into the belly of an enormous inflatable Sperm Whale. When inside they find themselves in the depths of the bubbling, kelp-swirling ocean, where they settle to watch and listen to a marvellous marine tale. The Whale will be on The Green at Royal William Yard for the Seafest weekend.
• Royal William Yard 200 Exhibition (running from the 13^th – 28^th September) curated from local stories, artefacts, images and art, much of which has never been seen publicly before now.
• As part of the city’s ‘Keep Plymouth Fishing’ campaign to support local fishers and their businesses by promoting local, sustainable catch, Plymouth Fishing and Seafood Association will be attending Seafest to highlight the importance of Plymouth’s fishing industry and demoing delicious seafood recipes on the cookery stage based in the Barbican for the Seafest weekend.

To ensure visitors can easily access as much as the waterfront as possible during Seafest safely and sustainably, subsidised and free public transport offers supported by Plymouth Boat Trips, Mount Batten Ferry and Plymouth CityBus’ ‘Shark and Ride’ will be available across the weekend.

With the return of the live cookery demo stage, family friendly activities, facepainting, trader stands, music, street entertainment and theatre, trails and tours, crafts and making sessions spanning the whole waterfront from Sutton Harbour, the Barbican, Tinside Lido, West Hoe and Royal William Yard, from Mount Batten to Mount Edgcumbe, Seafest has all the ingredients to be a hugely popular weekend for everyone in Britain’s Ocean City.

For more information about Seafest please visit: visitplymouth.co.uk/seafest-plymouth

We carrot wait for you to join us once again this year for some Easter fun on the Barbican with our Easter Trail.

Pick up your FREE trail leaflet during 5th April to 22nd April from the Tourist Information Centre or download via the Barbican Waterfront website.

The Easter Bunny must find all the carrots he’s planted in his patch around the Barbican, find them all and come back for a little treat the bunny has left for you.

We’re rooting for you !

🦇 BARBICAN HALLOWEEN TRAIL (26th October to 3rd November) 🦇

Hang out with our batty friends on the Barbican this Halloween.

You don’t need echolocation to find these bats! Just pop into the Tourist Information Centre and pick up a trail sheet for some free Halloween fun this Half Term!

Complete your trail sheet, return with your answers to the Tourist Information Centre to receive a treat!

Get ready to jingle all the way to the finish line this December as the Santa Fun Run makes its return to Plymouth’s waterfront for the second consecutive year.

Organised by Saltram Rotary, and supported by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, the festive event will be held on Sunday 8^th December, starting and finishing on the Barbican.

Participants of all ages are invited to don their Santa suits (all included with the registration fee) and enjoy the fun run, jolly jog, or wonderful walk of either a 2.5km or 5km route through the city’s beautiful waterfront all to support local charities Jeremiah’s Journey and Shekinah.

Jon Walton, CEO, and Kim Downer, Business Liaison Manager, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership:

“We’re so excited to see the Santa Fun Run return to the Barbican and waterfront for a second year. Last year hundreds of Santas (including me [Jon]!) either walked, jogged or ran along our fantastic historic roads and enjoyed spectacular waterfront views. We really hope even more people will enter into the Christmas Spirit and participate this year to raise even more money for two such worthy local charities, Jeremiah’s Journey and Shekinah.”

Roger Punch, Saltram Rotary Club:

“Following on from the enormous success of the Plymouth Santa Fun Run on the waterfront last year, we are delighted to be able to take the plunge again this year. Again, primarily supporting Shekinah and Jeremiah’s Journey, who are such worthy charities, both providing invaluable support for the local community, we are looking forward to building on the exceptionally positive feedback that we received. With invaluable support from the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, we have the realistic ambition of having 1000 Santas on the start line on 8th December.”

John Naismith, Jeremiah’s Journey:

“We are absolutely delighted that Saltram Rotary have selected Jeremiah’s Journey to be one of the supported charities for the Plymouth Santa Fun Run along with our friends at Shekinah. Being a part of such a high-profile fun run provides us the platform to promote the essential service that our Bereavement Services Team provide for children, young people and families in and around Plymouth. We are looking forward to many people joining us and there is every chance that you will see Jeremiah Bear complete the full 5k of the Plymouth Santa Fun Run again this year.”

Kristy Winters, Shekinah:

“We are thrilled to announce that Shekinah has once again been chosen as one of the beneficiary charities for the Plymouth Santa Fun Run. This event is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and support those most in need in our community. We are equally excited to be partnering with Jeremiah’s Journey once again! Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership and the Saltram Rotary for their continued support and dedication. We look forward to another successful and meaningful event this year!”

The Santa Fun Run will take place on Sunday 8th December at 11am. Registrations for the event will be open in the next couple of weeks – please visit https://www.plymouthsantafunrun.co.uk/ for more information. All entrants receive a FREE Santa Suit and finishing medal as part of the entry fee.