Dates have been announced for this years popular annual events which take place on the Barbican and Sutton Harbour by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership & Plymouth City Council Events Team

• Plymouth Pirates Weekend – 20th & 21st May 2023
• Plymouth Seafood & Harbour Festival – 16th & 17th September 2023

Returning for its 6th year after the success of previous years, Halloween on the Barbican 2022! #LoveTheBarbican
A host of events and activities are taking place in the run up to Halloween here on the Plymouth Barbican!

Including our popular –

BARBICAN HALLOWEEN TRAIL

Sea-riously Spooky Fun on the Barbican this Half term !

Join us for our Sea-riously spooky Children’s Trail. From 24 – 30 October

Look out for the posters of real sea creatures displayed in shop windows around the Barbican, these are creatures with a gruesome twist, have you ever heard of a Zombie Worm for example, no? Well there are plenty of creepy creatures like that for you to discover. Don’t get caught out , there is an imposter that we have made up can you spot it?

Collection your trail sheets from the Tourist Information Centre OR download here

Find them all and bring your completed trail to the Tourist Information Centre to collect your prize, will it be a Trick or Treat ?

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS (24th to 31st Oct)

We’ll be posting all activities and events around the area on our Facebook event page and a summary in our special Halloween Section too, here on our website, (launching mid October)

Halloween on the Barbican is run by a small committee on the Barbican including the Tourist Information Centre, the team at Eddystone Media who run the Barbican Waterfront Community channels and supported by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership.

Banner graphic thank you to Beth Paisley

Seafood fans are in for a tasty treat as the Plymouth Seafood and Harbour Festival returns to the Barbican and Sutton Harbour on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2022. There will be free fishy fun for all the family and the chance to taste some of the finest fayre the ocean has to offer.

Organised by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership (PWP), the free festival is a vibrant celebration of the incredible, sustainably caught fresh fish and seafood on offer in Britain’s Ocean City, home of the UK’s first National Marine Park.

Cooking demonstrations, street food, crafting, entertainment and children’s activities – including a how to catch a ‘Fish Finger’ workshop and a sea life trail – will all be on offer over the two days.

Jon Walton, Chief Executive of PWP, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome the free Seafood and Harbour Festival back to Plymouth. It is one of our larger events and is always a huge success, with lots of people enjoying the wide range of food stalls, live food demonstrations and entertainment for all of the family.

“As well as being fun, we hope it will show people the importance of the blue economy to our city’s economy and how we are sustainably using the resources of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and our wider oceans.

“Myself and Jenny, the new Waterfront Team, are looking forward to getting out and seeing how much the public and businesses are enjoying themselves over the weekend. Huge thanks to everyone who has worked tirelessly to make this happen. We hope everybody has a fantastic time.”

Throughout the weekend the Cookery Theatre on West Pier, next to the Mayflower Steps, will be busy with chefs from some of Plymouth’s popular restaurants; including Supha’s the Treasury, Rockfish, St Elizabeth’s House, the Boathouse and Hook and Line. They will be joined by colleagues from the University of Plymouth and Cornwall and City Colleges, to share how they cook and prepare delicious seafood recipes. The secrets of the deep and its inhabitants will also be explored by the team from the National Marine Aquarium.

Street food will be in abundance with stalls along The Parade, Quay Square and West Pier. They’ll be selling delicious food and drink to enjoy on the day as well as special treats to take home. Soak up the atmosphere with Ventons Devon Cyder’s festival bar and there will be fresh fish and shellfish, authentic Thai food, local gins, cheeses and sweet treats to enjoy as well.

Sound Seafood will also have some tasty samples of fresh mackerel and sardines to try.

Trawler boats from Interfish will be moored alongside, and visitors can find out about the fisherman’s experiences out on the ocean.

Meanwhile experts at Plymouth Trawler Agents will show just how to fillet, prepare and eat a sustainable catch. They’ll also have a fantastic display showing species found in the local waters. At 4pm on Sunday the fish will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Fisherman’s Mission charity.

The festival’s resident artist, Debby Mason will be selling her beautiful sea themed prints, textiles and mugs. She’s also created a special sea life trail to follow with a sweetie treat to finish!

David French is one of a small number of craftsmen left who can make a Lobster ‘Withy’ willow pot. It takes around five-hours to make a traditional lobster catcher and David, who’s a fifth-generation maker, will be demonstrating the painstaking work involved to create one.

There will be plenty of fun for children too, including scallop shell painting, ‘hook a duck’ with the Fisherman’s Mission, colouring-in and the walking trail to seek out Debbie’s 10 beautiful sea life illustrations.

The Ocean Conservation Trust will be entertaining and challenging the crowds with games to play, including a sinking sharks STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) challenge, a fisherperson dress-up game, how to catch a ‘Fish Finger’ workshop, as well as a variety of artefacts on display. At 11.30am on both days from their stand, visitors can learn more about the inner workings of the squid with a fascinating dissection!

On Saturday, it’s the much-anticipated return of the Cardboard Boat Race. With just cardboard and sticky tape, participants will put their skills to the test and build a boat to sail a course around the harbour. The test of this awesome IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers) event is to be the last one to sink! This sticky-backed ship-building challenge will take place on Saturday between 9am and 4.30pm at the PDSSA Boathouse, Commercial Wharf.

On Sunday also on Commercial Wharf, the Barbican Theatre will be putting on a great family-friendly comedy show at 3pm. Laugh along with Plymouth Assembleth’s ‘Shodysse’ a hilarious romp through mythology – suitable for ages 8 and upwards.

This year’s Seafood and Harbour Festival has been sponsored by Plymouth-based solar panel experts Eco-Plug. Jordan and Oliver from Eco-Plug, said: “The Eco-Plug team are extremely excited to engage with friendly faces at the festival this year and are on hand to offer free help, advice and support on how to be more sustainable, cost efficient and eco-friendly at home – which has never been more important – as we go through this difficult time with rising energy prices.

“The entire team at Eco-Plug are feeling proud to be title sponsors for Plymouth’s Seafood and Harbour Festival 2022, and proud to be able to contribute to bringing this event to the people of Plymouth and surrounding areas. Look out for Eco-Plug’s festival stand. We look forward to seeing everybody there!”

The Plymouth Seafood and Harbour Festival is brought to you by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, with the support of event sponsors Eco-Plug, Sutton Harbour Group, Sound Seafood, Venton’s Devon Cyder and Plymouth City Council.

Find out more about the Plymouth Seafood and Harbour Festival at www.visitplymouth.co.uk/seafoodandharbourfest

Get your Jolly Rogers, eye patches and treasure maps at the ready for the return of Plymouth Pirates Weekend on 7 and 8 May 2022.

The beloved family event will be back and in full-swing for the first time since 2019, with the last two year’s events having been held virtually due to the pandemic.

With plenty of ocean-themed entertainment, tall ships, a treasure trail and live music, family members of all ages are set to enjoy a rip-roaring weekend on The Barbican and Sutton Harbour.

The event, run by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership Business Improvement District (PWP BID), offers an impressive line-up of FREE entertainment including pirate puppet shows and storytelling, demonstrations of canon and musket firing, mermaid encounters, stilt walkers, arts and crafts activities, face painting and appearances from lovable rogue, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Two tall ships, the three-masted Grayhound and the topsail schooner Johanna Lucretia, will also be docked alongside Quay Square and visitors are welcome to hop aboard and explore the ships for free.

Nick Buckland OBE, Chair of PWP, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing our hugely popular Pirates Weekend back this year, in-person. The event encourages thousands of visitors to enjoy our beautiful Waterfront and experience all the thrills that the high seas have to offer.

“Waterfront businesses love to get involved too, with amazing window displays and lots of fancy dress, which is actively encouraged. Bring the whole family for a great day out and I’d urge you to please show your support for our local shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants and accommodation providers after such a difficult couple of years, and without whom this event would not be possible.”

This year, ten talented local shanty bands will be performing at different locations throughout the weekend to entertain the crowds. A number of the bands will also be performing in nearby pubs after the main event has finished for the day, between 4pm and 6pm, on Saturday 7 May.

On Sunday 8 May, award-winning circus company, Pirates of the Carabina, and Barbican Theatre will present a family-friendly circus show, ‘Pirate Taxi’ on Commercial Wharf. The show takes place in, on and around an old-school London taxi and features extraordinary aerial performances plus hula-hooping, acrobatics and juggling.

Also new for this year is a chill-out zone in the garden area at the entrance to Basket Ope and a green space picnic area at Commercial Place, which will provide accessible calmer spaces for visitors to retreat to if they need it.

The event has been supported by Great Western Railway, Official Travel Partner of Plymouth Pirates Weekend, offering a traffic free journey if you plan to visit from further afield.

For all the latest information about Plymouth Pirates Weekend, please visit: visitplymouth.co.uk/plympiratesweekend or the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership Facebook page.