Festival of the Sea celebrates 20 years

THIS year will signal 20 years since the inception of Barwon Heads Festival of the Sea, which celebrates the surrounding marine environment.

Festival co-ordinator Naomi Wells said she’s been in the role for the past two years and enjoys the educational aspects of the event, running across March 10-14.

“I’m looking forward to this year’s outdoor film festival and am excited about the knowledge and skill sharing at the sustainability expo,” Ms Wells said.

Barwon Heads Festival of the Sea was created by a group of locals two decades ago and sees daily activities occur throughout the town over five days.

“Barwon Heads is as an extraordinary coastal town on the edge of diverse habitats and the sea. Inspired by this magnificent town, a group of Barwon Heads locals wanted to create a festival celebrating the beautiful marine environments,” Ms Wells said.

“The Barwon Heads Festival of the Sea was created and uses art, music, food, education and fun to highlight the marine environment and bring the community together.”

This year’s program includes the Moonah Arts Trail, a marine science night, a Learning Exchange Network (LEN) talk with the Barwon Heads Community Bank and Connections to the Sea; a day of conservation talks and excursions, marine trivia night and an outdoor film festival showcasing ocean conservation films.”

Ms Wells said the festival finishes with a bang on Saturday with a day of activities including rockpool rambles, a sustainability expo, shorebird art, live music, art installations and more.

“This year’s music line up centres around local acts and includes a drama performance by the Barwon Heads Primary School, the Barwon Heads Chorale, Sarah and the Singing Mermaids, Lumii, Andrea Robertson, THE YEW FLAT and Fenn Wilson.”

President Jon Duthie has been part of the festival since the beginning and said he was glad to see that it’s still an important community event.

“There’s something for everyone, including free yoga, a raft building competition and food vans on the Saturday. We invite the whole community to come together on Saturday evening at the foreshore to celebrate life by the sea.”

To see the full program of activities and events, head to festivalofthesea.com.au or follow them on Facebook by searching @festivaloftheseabh.