THE Upwelling Festival was a blast for the community, with something for everyone.

On Saturday morning, the festival kicked off with a well-attended free breakfast and the Blessing of the Fleet, after the traditional ceremony was in some danger of being cancelled earlier in the year, but was saved by the Portland Mission to Seafarers with help from local Lions Club and Rotary branches.

The street parade was a sea of colour with hundreds of school children, parents, teachers and others enjoying the march along Bentinck Street and onto the foreshore.

Following the Portland Citizens Brass Band in white uniform playing ‘Drunken Sailor’  was primary and preschool students dressed and acting as gannets, jellyfish and other marine creatures, followed by CEMA Theatre Group, Dhauwurd Wurrung Elderly and Community Health Service, the Portland Coast Guard, vintage cars and a host of local emergency service vehicles.

The parade led bystanders down to the foreshore where the Call to the Sea was performed, a tradition introduced to the festival in 2017.

Flags with krill, octopus, shark and other marine life were planted in a straight line on the grass and the community gathered behind them, while members of the Portland Citizens Brass Band stood before them.

Everyone was encouraged to harmonise with the instruments and sing out to the individual sea creatures, one after the other. Altogether, they were calling the Bonney Upwelling.

After the ceremony, students and parents split off to enjoy the rest of the day’s festivities, including the range of market stalls, live music, and other activities.

Upwelling Festival committee member Gordon Stokes said it was a “full house” in the Macs Hotel’s Admella Room, where the marine environment talks were held.

Aurore Couynilh talked about her research conducted at the Point Danger Gannet Colony, while Bella Voulgaris “spoke beautifully” about her passion to connect young people to marine science, and Bernard Wallace went into the history of whaling at Portland Bay, he said.

Situated in the Angling Club building was face painting and a pop up museum, where children had the chance to touch a real turtle shell, starfish and a variety of corals.

Another activity for the younger generation was painting a two wide, 10-metre-long banners, overseen by Karen Meredith.

“It's been a major hit with all the kids, because it's free, and they loved it,” Ms Meredith said.

Children were allowed to contribute to the banners by painting marine animals, intended to be featured in next year’s Upwelling Festival Parade.

Jumping castles were full with excited children and food vans were crowded with hungry people.

Bonney, the huge inflatable whale even made a return this year, as it was too windy last year to make an appearance.

Mr Stokes said the committee and the public coped with the cool blustery weather.

“We didn't have Bonney last year because of the wind that was predicted to be too high and so this year we were fortunate. It hadn't been out since 2019,” he said.

“There were lots of photographs taken by parents and their little kids in front of the whale.”

He said each year the festival has been developing bigger and bigger, and he was pleased with Saturday’s event.

It was a busy day,  and Mr Stokes said it couldn’t have been such a success without the help of volunteers and sponsors.