Seafest returns to Squirrel Cove Sat May 20

Roy L hales/ Cortes Currents -  Seafest is returning to Squirrel Cove on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

“SeaFest is coming out of hiatus. It ran for over 20 years and then we shut it down during COVID. We were going to start it up last year at the Gorge, but then the Gorge was going through a lot of changes. This Sea Festival is coming back to Squirrel Cove. The view is spectacular. I think it's got the best view on the island and it's got a rustic feel about it too. The old store has been there for a hundred years. The interpretive centre is there. This Seafest probably won't be as big as it was the last few years at the Gorge. It will be more like a community get-together. We’re going back to good food, good entertainment, and a lot of locals coming,” said Julia Rendall, Secretary of the Cortes Island Seafood Association.

“We have a lot of ideas we've been throwing around. We're hoping that Klahoose will be involved. We'll want to have a lot more children's activities. We want to showcase a lot of musicians, especially the younger musicians. There's so much talent on this island. The takeout will be operating, if somebody wanted a quick oyster burger.”

The festival’s backbone is its volunteers.

“We would just love to have people from all walks of life volunteer.”

They are also looking for local organizations who want to set up booths.

“Also individuals if they have something they'd really like to showcase: arts, crafts, pottery. One lady wants to have desserts, which finishes off the meal. If anybody wants to have a booth at this Sea Festival, we will be very happy to have you take part.”

The association’s annual celebration was held in Squirrel Cove for six years before moving to the Gorge in 2014.

Those were some of Rendall’s favourite Seafests, “By then we knew what we were doing and could do these other play things. We had a lot of kids games. We made cutouts of oysters with legs and had the kids paint them. They had a little point so you could stick them in the ground. So by the end of the day, we had all these little oysters stuck in the ground on the grass, which was very cute and the kids loved it. We had a touch tank. I think they even had a trebuchet shooting onto the beach. We had ‘the largest oyster’ competition, which was quite successful. Phil Allen was telling me the other day that he had a huge, beautiful oyster. He thought it was the largest oyster, and then somebody came with this long, skinny, oyster, and it won.”

The Festival changed after it moved to Gorge Harbour.

“The Gorge was a perfect setup. It was very good food and very organized. It was love, but it was different. I think Squirrel Cove was the most spontaneous, but that's my personal opinion.”

Curt Cunningham, owner/manager of the Squirrel Cove General Store added, “The store is hosting Seafest. We're very privileged and happy that they are bringing it back to Squirrel Cove. I think we're going to have an excellent day. We will do everything we can to make it successful. The funds go to the oyster growers and it's a really good cause.”