🗓️ Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd June 2025
Swanage Fish & Food Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year at its new venue of Sandpit Field.
The fish & food festival is a firm favourite in the town’s summer calendar – usually held at Prince Albert Gardens in June, it was postponed earlier this year due to bad weather.
Enjoy browsing the food stalls and sampling the very best of Dorset fish, seafood and drink, all overlooking Swanage Bay. And learn some new tips and tricks with cookery demonstrations from local chefs.
And there’s fun for children at the Little Fishes area, with fishy-themed games, crafts, song and story time. Kids are encouraged to come in fancy dress!
This family-friendly festival is completely free to attend and will have live music at across the weekend.
Timings
- Saturday 21st June: 11am – 7pm
- Sunday 22nd June: 11am – 4pm
Artistan Tent
New for 2025 is the Fish Festival Artisan Tent, where you can browse stalls from local makers and producers.
Pitches are now available for booking on the Fish & Food Festival website: swanfishfest.com/bookyourstall
Food & Demonstrations
Sample the best seafood the area has to offer, buy freshly-caught fish and try new ways of cooking your favourite dish.
But it’s not just fish – there’s plenty of options to suit every palate and dietary need, with sweet treats such as pancakes and ice cream too.
Demonstration Chef Line-Up (2024 Programme)
Learn tips, tricks and culinary secrets from the pros at the Fish Festival’s live food demonstrations by trained chefs from a range of local restaurants and food producers:
Saturday 24th August
- 11am: Fish filleting with Julia Noone (Swanage Bay Fish)
- 12.30pm: Eric Olinet (The Black Swan Inn)
- 2pm: Marek (The Grand Hotel)
- 3.30pm: Julia Noone (Swanage Bay Fish)
Sunday 25th August
- 11am: Fish filleting with Julia Noone (Swanage Bay Fish)
- 12pm: Christian (Salt Co.)
- 1pm: Chris Fry (The Narrows)
- 2pm: Claire Burnet (Chococo)
- Stallholders: To book a stall at the Fish Festival, email stalls@swanfishfest.com
Entertainment
Enjoy live music across the weekend, with local bands and solo artists performing on stage – all giving their time for free to support the festival and help raise funds for its charities.
There’s fun for kids too, with stalls to spend pocket money and learn more about local sea life and the all new Little Fishes fun area just for kids.
Live Music Line-Up (2024 Programme)
Saturday 24th August
- 11am: Steel Band
- 12pm: Tim Lacey
- 1pm: Steel Band
- 2pm: Terri O’Callaghan
- 4pm: Henry Bristow
- 5pm: Sea Fury
Sunday 25th August
- 11am: Old Hat
- 12am: Swanage Jazz MAchine
- 1.30pm: Kelp!
- 2.15pm: Eynsford Hill
- 3.15pm: Bruce Evans
Supporting Local Charities
You can help the festival support local charities by purchasing merchandise from a stall, getting involved in activities and by buying raffle tickets or giving a donation.
The Fish Festival raises money for the Fishermen’s Mission, the National Coastwatch Institution (Swanage) and Swanage RNLI.
For full information visit Swanage Fish Festival’s Facebook page or website: swanfishfest.com.