Mass crowd heads to Portarlington Mussel Festival

MASS crowds signaled the return of the 14th annual Portarlington Mussel Festival, with more than 18,000 people arriving to the foreshore to devour 10 tonnes of local mussels.

Event director Sheryl Follett said organisers adapted a different layout for the January 11 festival, providing more space for crowds to wander and sample wares on offer.

“I think it was a wonderful event and the feedback we got from the crowd was that it was a fantastic day. They loved the music, we changed the layout so it was really open.

“Everyone had a lovely day. We had a number of mussel outlets, they were going really well and plenty of volunteers (about 300).

“Queen Forever – The Australian Queen Tribute Show – was one of the highlights alongside the children’s acts. We also had roaming acts which were a big hit with the kids.”

Ms Follett said they had stalls near the pier for the first time which proved to be popular.

“There were more options for people. The weather was perfect and there was a great range of food vendors including locals, which was wonderful.

“That’s what we want, to showcase the region so it was great to have local providers representing the Bellarine. We’re getting better and better at that each year.”

Portarlington once again reaped the benefits from festival traffic with local accommodation booked out and restaurants and cafes packed.

“The event is a major attraction for the town and one of the busiest days of the year for local traders. Everything we make goes back into local community organisations,” Ms Follett said.

“We had a fantastic number of volunteers from various organisations including the local RSL, cricket, football and netball clubs, the coast guard and Little Athletics.”