There's shore to be more at Ocean City Festival

The Ocean City Festival arrived in Plymouth with a splash earlier this month and there are still plenty of events to get involved with over the next ten days.

Organised by Plymouth City Council, and sponsored by Ocean BMW, the festival started on Monday 8 September and will run for 20 days to Sunday 28 September, offering over 30 events.

The festival, designed to offer an exciting programme of events to entice residents, visitors, scientists and adventurers alike to explore the city and discover all it has to offer, aims to raise awareness, nationally and internationally, of Plymouth’s role as a leading UK ocean city, for research, leisure, heritage and local produce.

Today (Friday 19 September) evening head to the National Marine Aquarium where Monty Hall, a marine biologist, explorer and TV presenter will wow you with stunning images, remarkable footage and tall tales from one of diving’s greatest raconteurs. There is a charge of £10 for this event and pre-booking tickets is advisable, more details are available on the Ocean City Festival website.

If you’re looking for family fun on the shore, join the beach rangers for rock pooling and find out about Plymouth’s amazing marine life at Devil’s Point Beach or Mount Batten on Sunday (21 September). Both events are free to attend and kick off at 10am.

Find out more about the development of Millbay Docks and its role in handling mail and passengers for the ocean liners that once called at Plymouth in a lunchtime talk by our very own Nigel Overton, Curator of City and Maritime Heritage. The talk will take place on Tuesday 23 September at the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery at 1.10pm. Admission is £2 per person.

In addition a month-long international film festival, It’s All About the River, brings an exciting series of new works from BAFTA nominated artists and popular and cult classics to be screened at iconic waterfront locations along the River Tamar From Friday 12 September to Sunday 12 October.

Deputy Leader of the Council, Pete Smith, said: “Once again, this festival is proving popular with the people. Many of the events that have already taken place, such as the open air cinema, have been sold out. The feedback has been amazing and the events are providing a fantastic experience for the whole family.

“We are about half way through the festival but there is so much more to get involved in. Take a look at the Ocean City Festival website and take your pick!”

Plymouth’s Seafood Festival is a main highlight of the events which will see the Barbican and Sutton Harbour come alive with an array of activities and entertainment. Funded by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, this event takes place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September, the last weekend of the Ocean City Festival. It will include a Quayside Market, Cookery Theatre Programme, Catch of the Day and The Little Nippers Crabbing Contest.

During the Seafood Festival a Japanese-style matsuri fair and a recreation of the homecoming of the tall ship The Clove in Sutton harbour will highlight Plymouth’s crucial role in the 400-year story of British-Japanese relations, as part of the Japan400 celebrations, organised by Plymouth University.

More information about the events mentioned, or to download the full programme, visit www.oceancityfestival.co.uk.