Image by bugmonkey via Flickr

We have just had confirmation of the dates of the 2009 Isle of Man Queenie Festival! Yes work has already started on planning for next years event which we hope will be bigger and better than our first year.

The 2009 Queenie Festival will be another week long celebration taking place between the 29 June and 5 July 2009. Once again the festival will conclude with the hugely popular Marine Day Festival of the Sea down at Island Seafare’s Paddy’s Market on the quay in Port St Mary.

We are working on finalising the week of activities and once they have been agreed we will let you know what’s on and where it will all be taking place.

Hope you will come and join in the fun!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Isle of Man Queenie Festival
• Manx farm accommodation

See you Saturday…

Hairy Biker’s Marine Day 3FM Radio Advert

3FM Marine Day Radio Advert Version 1

3FM Marine Day Radio Advert Version 2

Queenie Spring Rolls

It wasn’t prize bulls, Manx lamb or the newest tractor that was the talk of this years Southern District Agricultural Show, no it was none other than the fantastic half shell Manx Queenies and Queenie Spring rolls that were cooked up in the Manx food court by none other than Tim Croft of Island Seafare.

Tim was there promoting the Queenie Festival and the Marine Day Festival of the Sea and boy oh boy did they taste good and were definatley the talk of the show ground over the weekend!

We have recently heard that due to demand Tim is now looking into a way of producing more Queenie Spring Rolls with the help of a food technician, so look out the next time you order a spring roll from a local Chinese restaurant! You know where you saw it first!

Tasty Half Shell Manx Queenies

Seafood BBQ

As part of the Queenie Festival celebrations there will be a BBQ down at The Bay in Port Erin on the evening of the the 8th August.

The evening will kick off at 7pm with Si King and Dave Myers aka The Hairy Bikers getting behind the BBQ and cooking up some fantastic seafood and Manx produce treats including those juicy Manx Queenies!

There will be three sittings, 7.30pm - 8.15pm, 8.15pm - 9.00pm, 9.00pm - 9.45pm so don’t worry you wont have to wait for long to get some tasty Manx treats!

Numbers are strictly limited so be sure to contact The Bay, Port Erin on 832084 or Paddy’s Market, Port St Mary on 834494 to get your hands on those tickets and there only 15 quid each!

Yum

Open Wide

Not only are the Hairy Biker Si and Dave coming down to the Marine Day, but we managed to grab them during their busy schedule to get the buzz going out and about around the island with some great Marine Day adverts playing on air in the run up to the day. Tune in to 3FM for all the latest Queenie Festival and Marine Day updates and interviews. Or listen to the ads here!

Not long now!

Watch this space! mmmmm we can’t wait to get cooking!

Lots of thanks to all who have contributed photographs.

So to start the ball rolling we will keep putting up regular facts about the sea around the Isle of Man.

Fact 1

Did you know that the waters of the Isle of Man are home to one of the worlds largest concentrations of Basking Sharks. Bet you didnt know that!

Fact 2

Did you know that the Basking Shark is the second largest fish in the world!

Don’t you feel lucky to live or come on holiday here!

Fact 3

A Basking shark can grow up to 11. 5 meters and even weigh over 7 tonnes!

Apparently the best places to spot them are off the west coast of the island, you can see them from the shore if they are close in, but its best out in a boat.

Fact 4

Basking sharks eat plankton and are harmless to humans. Their huge mouths contain thousands of mucous covered gill rakers that filter plankton out of the water. Basking sharks swim just below the surface of the water, filtering out the plankton.

Fact 5

A Basking shark can filter the amount of water needed to fill a 50m swimming pool in roughly one hour! Thats amazing!

The Manx Wildlife Trust run a scheme called the Manx Basking Shark Watch, the team who co-ordinate this do an amazing job and they are incrediby committed to finding out more about these fascinating creatures and their habits. For more information log onto Manx Basking Shark Watch.

They will also be attending Marine Day on the 9th August, so look out for their stand.

A big thank you to all the team at 3FM for getting behind the Queenie Festival and Marine Day ‘A Festival of the Sea.’ The 3FM team will be out and about promoting the events and raising awareness about Queenie’s and if they are lucky enough will even be venturing out on a local fishing trip to see how they are caught. Fingers crossed for a calm day!

In the lead up to Marine Day they will be featuring interviews with the organisers on air and will also be giving details on what will be happening and when down at Port St Mary on the 9th August.

The 3FM Road Runner and PR girls will be attending the Marine Day with loads of give aways and also reporting back to the studio on the days events.

Thanks guys, its great to have your support!