Falmouth Oyster Festival – it’s all about the oysters this time.

Falmouth Oyster Festival takes place in October each year. Not to be confused with the similarly named Rock Oyster Festival, which is a festival that happens to include oysters, the Falmouth extravaganza is really all about this (allegedly) aphrodisiac saltwater bivalve and its consumption. The purpose of this get-together is to celebrate the beginning of the oyster-dredging season, and in particular what is one of the last surviving traditional oyster fisheries, where sailing barges and hand punts recover the shellfish. As well as this, the event showcases the diversity and high quality of Cornish seafood in all its glory. Every year, there is a cooking master-class with a celebrity chef, followed by a book signing to open the festival. Rammed with demonstrations by various local chefs, with oysters, seafood, wine and local ales, this is a must-do weekend for any cookery enthusiast.

The seaside town of Falmouth is one of the many jewels in Cornwall’s illustrious crown, one of the numerous fruits de mer in the cornucopia after which (some say) Kernow was named. Though it’s not technically a city, it is a largish place, pretty well appointed with shops and eateries and is home to the third largest natural harbour in the world. Its beaches, Gyllyngvase (Gylly), Swanpool, Castle and Maenporth, are all equally famous, and the opportunities for waterborne activities are endless. So where better to come for a festival of this nature? Falmouth is also the gateway to the conjoining of five rivers, including of course the Fal, which runs through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The award-winning National Maritime Museum contains a vast collection of historic boats, shares stories of intrepid sailors, and offers us an observation window to see what is happening underwater in the famous harbour.

Falmouth Oyster Festival has, over the years, seen a growing number of Cornish food and drink producers bring their quality products to exhibit alongside the traditional craft fair stalls in Event Square and at the festival’s marquee. Visitors will enjoy the ever-expanding range of mouth-watering local food and drink, both in the town while soaking up the festival atmosphere, or to take home to experience at a later date!

As well as the food, attendees can expect children’s entertainment like shell painting, as well as traditional sea shanties, the Oyster Parade, and lots and lots of live music. There is an oyster shucking competition:

ʃʌk/

noun

an outer covering such as a husk or pod, especially the husk of an ear of maize or the shell of an oyster.

verb

gerund or present participle: shucking

remove the shucks from maize or shellfish.

“shuck and drain the oysters”

And then there’s the Grand Oyster Draw, and stalls brimming with Cornish produce; the festival is a joy for all oyster, seafood and nautical enthusiasts. The Falmouth Working Boat Race takes place over the weekend; these relics of a bygone age were originally called River Oyster Dredging Boats, powerful gaff-rigged cutters that are a wonder to behold under full sail.

To read all about Falmouth, why not take a look at our dedicated Falmouth page here… and if you can’t wait until October to party it up in the streets of this charming town, maybe you should get here for the Sea Shanty Festival – a celebration of all things nautical and Cornwall’s boating, mining and musical traditions, held at the end of June!

Whenever you’d like to come and visit Kernow, you’ll find many beautiful cottages available to rent through Cornish Traditional Cottages no matter what the time of the year.

Click here to see our latest special offers, and we’ll be singing along with you soon!