Business leaders gear up for Ocean City Festival
Plymouth’s Ocean City Festival is returning to our shores in September and yesterday marked the official launch of the programme of events running from Monday 8 to Sunday 28 September.
This spectacular twenty-day festival, organised by Plymouth City Council and sponsored by Ocean BMW Plymouth, will include over 30 events elebrating everything that makes Plymouth’s waterfront locecation – and its relationship with the sea – so special.
Business leaders and event organisers got together today at the National Marine Aquarium to celebrate the breadth of events being held this year.
Designed to appeal to all ages, the events offer a real variety including seafood, aquatic activities, marine conservation, education, marine science, an international film festival plus hands on family fun. The festival also has an important business theme, which focuses on Plymouth’s broad range of marine companies and expertise, a key employment sector within the city.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Co-operatives, Housing and Community Safety said: “Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, is a wonderful setting for a festival like this. There is an exciting programme of events planned which cater for a whole range of communities - from businesses to schools, from marine experts to young scientists and from residents to visitors.
“Throughout the month some of the events that people can get involved with include tours around our shores and historic sites, an international film festival, open air cinema experience, marine science conferences, the Ecover Blue Mile, STEMFest, Japan400 and many, many more.”
The Plymouth Seafood Festival takes place during the Ocean City Festival and is a main highlight of the event. Head to the Barbican and Sutton Harbour on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September to celebrate the city’s fantastic locally caught seafood.
Here people can see local and celebrity chefs showcase their fantastic quality seafood, taste mouth-watering produce, get hands-on with filleting fish and wander the quayside market where live entertainment will add to the festival feel of the streets.
There will be a spectacular celebration of culture, cuisine and commerce at Japan400 Plymouth, where a Japanese-style matsuri fair and a recreation of the homecoming of tall ship The Clove will highlight Plymouth’s crucial role in the 400-year story of British-Japanese relations..
A month-long international film festival, It’s All About the River, brings an exciting series of new works from BAFTA nominated artists and popular and cult classics to be screened at iconic waterfront locations along the River Tamar in September and October.
Chris Arscott, Chairman of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Director of Destination Plymouth and Chairman of the Ocean City Festival said: “Working with a number of key marine and waterfront organisations we have seen this event grow year on year and attracts upwards of twelve thousand people. The Plymouth Waterfront Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) funds the Plymouth Seafood Festival, a main attraction during the three weeks, and we are very much looking forward to showcasing what our waterfront has to offer.”
Ocean City Festival is organised by Plymouth City Council and delivered in partnership with Plymouth University, the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, Sport Environment, the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Plymouth City Centre Company, the Culture Board and Destination Plymouth.
For more information about the festival visit www.oceancityfestival.co.uk.
