Where it began…….

This year we are thinking of Robin Hutchinson, who, with Caroline Finch, organised the very first meeting with the idea of setting up a Fish Festival in Swanage at Prince Albert Gardens
The Reptiles Live Band have supported the Fish Festival since it founded in 2015 and Robin is their lead singer. Sadly, Robin and the Reptiles are not able to make the festival this year, but we look forward to catching up with them soon, and planning the next Fish Festival for 2024

Caroline has received a lovely message from Robin about how it all began:

It was such a lovely evening when over fifty local people and businesses gathered at Tawny’s Wine Bar to discuss creating a new festival to celebrate the wonderful Swanage Bay and its relationship to the sea and history of fishing.
Ideas flowed and enthusiasm fizzed as people grouped together to imagine what could happen at a Swanage Fish Festival.
Of course, there had been discussions in the build up to the meeting with key individuals and organisations, such as the Swanage Chamber Trade and Commerce,  but this was the real test to see if the idea might float.  The reaction was universally popular, great ideas emerged and so the work began to turn a dream into a reality.

As with all successful projects people emerged to offer their skills and experience, take on responsibilities and ensure the organisational backbone was there leaving the space for the more creative to be…… well, more creative.

Now as the latest Swanage Fish Festival is about to happen it is a tribute to those people who contributed on the journey and those that continue to contribute today.  There is a wonderful expression, ’success has many parents and failure is an orphan’  Never is that truer than with this Festival where so many have played their part. Ann and I are proud to have played a small role in launching this ‘boat’
Long may she sail.