Marine life, market stalls, live music and the emotive Call to the Sea featuring hundreds of voices from the community are just some of the reasons to experience the Upwelling Festival tomorrow.
To start the day is a free barbecue breakfast supplied by the Rotary Club of Portland Bay and Portland Lions Club at 7.30am, held near the skate park, followed by the traditional Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony at 8.30am.
At 10am, school students, emergency services, local groups and the Portland Citizens' Brass Band will march in the Upwelling Street Parade starting from the All Saints Church, through Bentinck Street and coming to a halt on the foreshore.
The parade and community will then take part in a Call to the Sea, a seminal part of Portland’s annual festival, led this year by Les Horovitz, Tony Burgess and Karen Meredith.
Also known as The Upwelling of Voices, the call symbolises the natural Bonney Upwelling that occurs off Portland’s Southern coastline.
This occurrence powers a seven-month feeding frenzy of krill, blue whales, sea birds, lobster, tuna and more from November to May every year.
The festival’s committee confirmed 130 market stalls will be available from 10am until 5pm along the Bentinck Street lawns and main foreshore. Portland and district traders will sell various food and other goods.
Activities lined up include a badges, masks, and headdresses workshop, canvas mural painting, face painting, ‘Yuurka Bawhaar Bazaar’ a jewellery and artifacts workshop, a kids treasure hunt, and an interactive pop-up museum.
There will be real objects from Museums Victoria’s collection displayed in the Angling Club building including taxidermized specimens, like a green sea turtle and seagull, collection objects such as a tiger shark jaw and whale vertebra, real fossil specimens including a Megalodon tooth, and additional items.
Visitors can also join fun activities such as making an anglerfish mask and creating a Kooyang eel mobile to take home.
Live music, from 11am until 4pm, will be located at the skate park stage and Bentinck Street lawn, featuring Portland Irish Group, Jayden Lillyst, Dave Bartel, Southern Ocean Sea Band, Monica Jasmine Karo, MixTape Trio, Jess Cook, Lee Morgan, Hannah Donaldson, Andy Alberts and Yirrmal.
The Flying Flamingoes, an acrobatic act, will join the festival this year, with separate performances at 11.30am, 1pm, and 2.30pm in front of the Naval Reserve Compound.
Fitting the 2024 theme of Shellfish is the ‘I’m So Shellfish’ exhibition conducted by artists Isobel Knowles and Rory Carter, featuring a range of multi-sensory installations at the former Groke café on Bentinck Street, where creations are viewed through VR headsets, sculptures and digital projections.
The exhibit will be open tomorrow and Sunday from 10am until 1pm.
Over at the Mac’s Hotel Portland will be the Marine Environment Talks held in the Admella Room from 1pm to 3pm, where ecologist Jodie Honan will share stories on the history, biology and ecology of shells, and Southern Right Whale expert Mandy Watson will discuss the different species of whale found on the coast.
Grade three, four, five and six students from Portland Primary School will also step up to share what they’ve learnt from their marine science studies focusing on the Great Southern Reef.
There are many more groups, activities and entertainment on offer at the festival so make sure to get out and enjoy this special Portland celebration.
