The maritime celebrations in Cork continue this weekend with Seafest, Ireland’s largest free family-friendly maritime festival taking place at the Port of Cork from Friday 7th-9th June. This year the festival shakes it up and makes the move to Cork to join up with the popular Cork Harbour Festival hosting over 100 free events throughout the weekend. With more than 100,000 visitors expected to attend the weekend is action packed with vessel tours, film screenings, interactive exhibitions and so much more showcasing and celebrating our seas.
Family fun evens at SeaFest in Cork (Credit Andrew Downes / Xposure)
One of last year’s big hits Wild Atlantic Theatre is returning with its lead star Doug Allan, the multi-award winning wildlife cameraman. Doug has worked alongside Sir David Attenborough on ground-breaking documentaries such as BBC’s Blue Planet, Frozen Planet and Ocean Giants. As one of the world’s best underwater cameramen, Doug has had the chance to get up close to some of the most powerful and awe-inspiring mammals found on land and sea.
Don’t miss out on screenings of the incredible series Ireland’s Deep Atlantic. Underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan embarks on a series of voyages in the open North Atlantic in search of large whales, sharks and cold water coral reefs. The RTÉ series explores many of Ireland’s sea creatures for the first time, documenting their behaviours in addition to investigating the health of our deep Atlantic waters.
Take a tour on the Marine Institute’s research vessel RV Celtic Explorer
Other weekend highlights include seafood in the BIM Tent. The BIM and Bord Bia Seafood Experience includes a packed schedule of well-known chefs and fishmongers, including Neven Maguire, Pat O’Connell, Hal Dawson and Martin Shanahan, who will demonstrate how to prepare and cook sustainably sourced Irish seafood.
There’ll be opportunities to get on the water with boat trips, kayaking and try sailing. For some heart-stopping entertainment don’t miss out on tightrope artist, Chris Bullzini’s awe-inspiring performance, walking a 120m tightrope across the River Lee. The high wire will run from the middle of Clontarf Bridge to City Quarter, Lapps Quay.
The weekend will also coincide with World Ocean’s Day and the campaign to encourage people to raise awareness and go blue! ‘Go Atlantic Blue’ is being spearheaded in Ireland by AORA (Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance) against the backdrop of SeaFest and the Our Ocean Wealth Summit (9th-10th June). SeaFest is Ireland’s national maritime festival and Our Ocean Wealth Summit is Ireland’s flagship event for the marine sector, bringing together Irish and international organisations to create innovative and sustainable solutions to drive our blue economy.
Speaking about the upcoming festival Dr Peter Heffernan CEO of the Marine Institute, said “Our ocean is our greatest natural resource, providing food and transport, supporting diverse ecosystems and also has a major influence on our weather and climate. SeaFest offers an opportunity for the Marine Institute to showcase our areas of research through interactive exhibits and displays and for visitors to come on board our national research vessel. Talks on our changing ocean, film screenings and art exhibitions enable visitors to discover more about our ocean and celebrate our maritime heritage.”
For a full list of events visit seafest.ie. See you there!
