| Aberystwyth Sea2shore Food Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | October |
| Location(s) | Aberystwyth |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | local community |
| Website | Sea2shore Food Festival Facebook page |
Aberystwyth Sea2shore Food Festival is an annual food festival held at Aberystwyth, Ceredigion over three days during October.
The festival was established in 2011 in order to raise awareness of the fishing industry in Cardigan Bay and to help to celebrate and promote locally sourced food and drink. [1]
The festival is located on the promenade at Aberystwyth where stalls offer locally produced food. Food demonstrations have been given by local and Michelin starred chefs. Aberystwyth Farmers Market also participates (winners of Best Food Market in the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards 2014). The festival also promotes local, young entrepreneurs. [2] [3]
Other events have included demonstrations by Aberystwyth Surf Life Saving Club, fishing and fly-tying demonstrations, art and craft stalls and children's craft activities, go karts, and an aquarium featuring local fish. The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales organise dolphin watches and seashore safaris. Other organisations participating include the RNLI, who run Aberystwyth Lifeboat Station, Aberystwyth Beach Buddies, RSPB, and St John Ambulance. [4] [5]
In 2018, the festival was visited by “Cragen the Sea Monster”, a 20m long creation of the mythical Welsh sea monster made from waste plastic. Cragen had made a journey around the Welsh coast in order to promote a plastic free sea. The model was created by Cardigan-based Small World Theatre who took on the project as part of Wales’ celebration of the Year of the Sea. [6] [7] The monster is inspired by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner who published Historia Animalium, a book written in the 1500s with illustrations of sea creatures.
The festival was established in order to raise awareness of the fishing industry in Cardigan Bay, which has a rich sustainable source of fish and shellfish. The festival was started by Aberystwyth Sea Anglers, Cardigan Bay Fisherman’s Association, Communities First and Food Centre Wales.
The festival connects with Ceredigion’s maritime history. In 1900, there were 213 ships registered in Aberystwyth harbour employing approximately 900 people.
The grass roots nature of the festival means that it is guided by the local community and enables visitors to engage directly with fishermen, lifeboat crews, surf lifesavers, and rowers. [8]
The festival has been opened by:
2015: Taron Egerton, who attended Ysgol Penglais School.
2017: Alana Spencer (winner of BBC One’s The Apprentice in 2016), who went to school in Aberaeron [9] [10]
Ceredigion, historically Cardiganshire, is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Aberystwyth is the largest settlement and, together with Aberaeron, is an administrative centre of Ceredigion County Council.
Porthcawl ( ) is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is on the south coast of Wales, 25 miles (40 km) west of Cardiff and 19 miles (31 km) southeast of Swansea.
Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. Located on the coast between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, its resident population was 1,274 in the 2021 census.
Cardigan is both a town and a community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Positioned on the tidal reach of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire, Cardigan was the county town of the historic county of Cardiganshire. Cardigan is the second-largest town in Ceredigion. The largest town, Aberystwyth, is one of the two administrative centres; the other is Aberaeron.
New Quay is a seaside town and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales; it had a resident population of 1,045 at the 2021 census. Located 19 miles (31 km) south-west of Aberystwyth, on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, the town lies on the Ceredigion Coast Path. It remains a popular seaside resort and traditional fishing town, with strong family and literary associations with the poet Dylan Thomas and his play, Under Milk Wood.
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales.
Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 and of the village 1241. Aberporth's beaches have earned Blue Flag status.
Penparcau is a village and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, situated to the south of Aberystwyth. The village has the largest number of Welsh language speakers (1095) in the Aberystwyth town area, covering an area from the sea to the Rheidol.
Poppit is a small, dispersed settlement which lies on the southern side of the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Gwbert, also known as Gwbert-on-Sea, is a cliff-top coastal village in Y Ferwig community, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies at the most southerly coastal point of Ceredigion, on the eastern shore of the Teifi estuary, from where there are views westwards over Cardigan Bay, and south-westwards to Poppit Sands and the headland of Cemaes Head, in neighbouring Pembrokeshire. It is reached by the B4548 road from the town of Cardigan, 2.8 miles (4.5 km) away.
The Ceredigion Coast Path is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is 65 miles (105 km) in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan (52.0810°N 4.6608°W) to Ynyslas (52.5271°N 4.0495°W).
Llanon is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It adjoins the village of Llansantffraed on the coast of Cardigan Bay, 5 mi (8.0 km) north of Aberaeron and 11 miles (18 km) south of Aberystwyth on the A487 road. It is situated on a raised beach. The village is named after the church of Saint Non (Llan-Non), the mother of Saint David. By tradition, St David was born and brought up in Llanon.
Aberystwyth is a university and seaside town and a community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and 16 miles (26 km) from Aberaeron, the county's administrative centre. In 2011, the population of the town was 15,935.
Cardigan Lifeboat Station, at Poppit Sands, North Pembrokeshire, near Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales, is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station opened in 1849. The station closed in 1932 but reopened in 1971 as an inshore lifeboat station.
Aberystwyth Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the coastal resort of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, West Wales. It was established in 1861, but there has been a lifeboat serving the town since 1843.
The coast of Ceredigion is made up of a long coastal plain that contains high cliffs, coves, large bays and estuaries. The coastal plain gets narrower towards the more mountainous north of the county and is cut by the wide estuaries of the Teifi and the Dyfi. The broad and fertile Teifi valley is ideal for dairy farming and mixed farming. Heavy rainfall washes the minerals out of the soil and results in the mountainous areas of the county having relatively poorer, acidic soils. The plough line can be as low as 700 feet, which restricts cultivation.
Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival is an annual food festival held at Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales between 1997 and 2019.
Cardigan River and Food Festival is an annual food festival held at Cardigan, Ceredigion.
Gŵyl Fwyd Llanbed - Lampeter Food Fest is an annual food festival held at Lampeter in Ceredigion.