Festival returns with even bigger fish to fry

Port Chalmers local Ant O’Neill and his two daughters Josie (left) and Hannah O’Neill lend a helping hand cooking some paua patties during a previous festival. PHOTOS: GERARD O’BRIEN

If you love fresh kaimoana, you are in luck.

Spring sunshine meets sea breeze for a day of flavour and fun as the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival returns next month.

Lily Stevenson shows an undersized trumpeter she caught during the 2023 Seafood Festival before releasing it back into the sea.

A culinary pavilion will host live cooking demonstrations by celebrity chef Nadia Lim and food writer Nici Wickes, sharing smart, budget-friendly ways to turn today’s catch into crowd-pleasers.

The sea air will be filled with spring sounds as the main stage will rock with bands including Bulletproof Convertible, Ed & The Shadow Boys, The Beatniks, Hot Sauce Club, Johnny & the Cashtones, IVY, Flying Man, Mea Culpa, One + One, Dr T & the Dangerous Women and the O-Taiko Drumming Ensemble.

National treasure Suzy Cato will headline a packed children’s programme including Rainbow Rosalind and Melody the Mermaid, face painting, a supervised "touch tank" aquarium and a children’s fishing competition.

Allison Han, of China, (left) and Esther Chen, of Taiwan, ham it up at a face-in-hole shark board during a previous festival.

Travel options will include a park and ride from Forsyth Barr Stadium with vintage buses operated by the Otago Heritage Bus Society.

The "Emerson’s Express" special return train will run directly to the wharf.

People can also enjoy a one-way harbour cruise to the festival on the Monarch ferry, departing Fryatt St Wharf and arriving at the Boiler Point Wharf.