A vibrant celebration of Whitby’s fishing past and present took place this weekend with the annual Fish and Ships Festival.
The event attracted thousands of visitors who enjoyed an array of food stalls, behind-the-scenes tours and demonstrations by top chefs both local and international.
A big draw in the main marquee on Sunday afternoon was Michelin-starred celebrity Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
He gave a live cooking demonstration and charmed the crowd with anecdotes of how he first became interested in food as a ‘hyperactive youngster who was always hungry’.
Stephen Boocock of Whitby-based family seafood firm Sandgate Seafoods also gave live demonstrations of shellfish dishes throughout the weekend which were well-received by the public.
He said: “It’s been good, there were plenty of people about.
“It’s very important to highlight what we have we left here in Whitby, obviously we don’t land a great deal now, whitefish was a big industry but it isn’t what it was at all.
“But we pull in a lot of shellfish; crab, lobster and scallops is the vast majority of what we see in Whitby now, it is a shame there’s not more fishing but we’ve got to highlight what we’ve got.”
Steve Lester, who was manning the Whitby Gin stall, said they’d had a bumper festival.
“It’s been our best event for the summer, probably the year,” he said. “Yesterday (Saturday) was the best day and we are delighted – it is on our home turf too so it makes it even better.”
Alongside the stalls and demonstrations, there was also plenty of entertainment, with live bands singing folk songs and sea shanties on the Endeavour replica ship and on the bandstand.
Whitby actress Bidi Iredale also delighted visitors as she wandered round the festival dressed in a historic herring-woman outfit, telling tall tales and greeting people in character as a Scottish ‘herring lassie’.
Stepping out of character to speak to The Northern Echo, Bidi said: “It is really lovely to be part of this festival because this is what Whitby is all about.
“It has been really good, there’s been plenty of people, lots of tourists, some who knew about the festival and some who were coming along anyway and have been nicely surprised by it.
“I work at other Whitby events but this festival is different because it really celebrates Whitby itself; all the local producers and the fisherman, it’s just lovely.”
Lee Threadgold and Dawn Dyson-Threadgold, who run the Scarborough-based Animated Object Theatre Company, also brought fun to the festival with their brightly coloured mechanised fish ‘Flounders and Spratt’.
The fish, accompanied by music and blowing bubbles, was a definite hit with the crowds and Lee said that it was great to be part of the Fish and Ships celebrations.
He said: “It’s been really busy with lots of lovely, smiley people.
“We’ve had a really great response from the public.
“We’ve been walking about letting people know about the festival and having people take selfies with us – just having a bit of fun really.”
Other attractions included a behind-the-scenes tour of the Whitby Lobster Hatchery which works closely with the local fishing industry to increase local lobster populations as well as educating the public about the importance of marine conservation.
Boatbuilder Parkol Marine also gave tours of its boatyard, where visitors were able to see the next generation of Whitby’s fishing fleet under construction.
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