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North Yorkshire Council
After a great and welcome return in 2022 the next Whitby Fish & Ships Festival will be back 20-21 May, 2023!
We had a fantastic festival in 2022 celebrating all of the things that make Whitby such a special place for food, music and heritage.
Located on Dock End and Endeavour Wharf, we can look forward to a celebration of Whitby’s fishing heritage in the Seafood Kitchen Marquee with live cookery demonstrations throughout the weekend.
This year, we are delighted to welcome 2022 Masterchef winner Eddie Scott who will be bringing some eastern flavour with his cooking, plus Simon Crannage from Yorkshire's luxury Hotel, Grantley Hall, as well as local chefs such as The Magpie's Paul Gildroy, Raithwaite Hall's Phil Akrill and Andrew Nightingale from Hawsker’s Hare & Hounds, with a special focus on seafood.
Live Music from Whitby Sea Festival will entertain us with sea balladeers such as famous shanty singers, Flash Jack, The Keelers and the Doomfolk, plus local groups and school choirs and much more in the music marquee, Whitby bandstand, The Endeavour ship and Whitby Library! Saturday 10-10pm and Sunday 10-5pm.
In the Fish Craft Tent, learn about fishing skills such as pot making, net mending, crab and lobster dressing, and see master filleter Andrew Hodgson demonstrate his master skills. Paul Gildroy from the world-famous Magpie Cafe will also be showing off his culinary skills, and you can learn more about the fishing industry and its relationship with Whitby and the East Coast.
Whitby’s New Lobster hatchery will be offering guided tours of their new visitor centre on Pier Road. You’ll be able to get an insight in to this important industry to Whitby and how we can all help make it sustainable. Tours will be available Saturday and Sunday.
There will be stalls aplenty showcasing local produce, children’s trampolines, face painting and balloon making and walkabout acts. Look out for Flotsam and Jetsam and those Fisher Lassies!
Away from the main festival area there is an opportunity to explore Whitby and discover some of its cultural gems and heritage:
Captain Cook Museum - Discover what life was like for sailors and on board with world famous Captain James Cook. Learn about what they ate, hygiene, and what their day to day lives would have been like.
There will be drop in 'Wild Escape' workshops at the lovely Pannett Art Gallery , where you can learn about Sea Birds and their natural habitat, with talks and workshops.
Whitby Museum, will be holding a special exhibition entitled 'A Pictorial Journey Along Whitby Harbourside in the 50s and 60s', along with a children's treasure hunt around the museum.
Quayside Fish & Chips will be supporting the Whitby RNLI through a variety of fundraising initiatives over the festival weekend
Parkol Engineering, on Saturday only, will be offering special guided tours of Whitby’s very own local ship builder. In small groups you'll be able to see a new fishing vessel under construction and see a special display of previous vessels.
Whitby RNLI will be having an open day. The lifeboat station will be open and tours of the lifeboats will be available between 10am - 4pm.
Facing the Waves, a Dogwood Production - Dogwood Productions will be performing around Whitby some one-act plays from their long-term project 'Facing the Waves' which partners with the RNLI, focusing on The Sea, The Shore and The Saved.
Whitby Library - The children will love the drawing workshops with Liz Million (check out some from the virtual festival on Discover Yorkshire Coast’s YouTube Channel!).
Flowergate Hall will be bringing two evenings of electronic music with ‘Wavelengths’ on Thursday evening and ‘Docking Station’ on the Friday. Brought to you by Flash Company Arts.
Whitby Abbey – Live performances from ‘A Whitby Trilogy’ by Dogwood Productions, and Locals Day on Sunday 21 May - FREE Entry to YO21, YO22 and TS13 postcodes (proof of address required). It’s a great opportunity to revisit the Abbey!
Take a look at our virtual festival from 2021 and see what you can look forward to in 2023 on the Discover Yorkshire Coast YouTube Channel.
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