Saturday 4th July – Marine Day & Yn Daunse n Skeddan’

Marine Day 2009 builds on the success of last year’s event where thousands came out despite the rain for what was a fantastic Day in Port St Mary. This year’s event starts at 11am and has the extremely popular marine touch tanks, courtesy of Manx Wildlife Trust, for kids and adults to get up close with the fish and plant species that live in the surrounding sea. Around the touch tanks will be a whole host of events, stalls, live music and competitions.

This year also sees the return of the Port St Mary Trawler race! Prizes are on offer for a time trial and also the best dressed boat which I bet will be worth the trip to Port St Mary in themselves.

Again there will be cooking and seafood preparation demonstrations as well as plenty of food available for you to enjoy throughout the day. The Lifeboat, Barrule Fisheries Vessel, Coastguard, 7th Wave and Manx Wildlife Trust will all be there giving you a chance to interact and maybe get involved with.

It really will be a great family day out and if last year’s is anything to go by it doesn’t matter what the weather is doing.

Yn Daunse n Skeddan’ or The Herring Dance starts at 8pm in the Stone Field in Port St Mary and goes on till late. For those of you that don’t know the Stone Field, it is at the cross roads by Port St Mary School. This is just a good old fashioned knees up; licensed bar, live music and a great laugh. Those of you that remember the Stone Field doos from the past will be able to vouch for how good these nights are and I’m sure there’ll be many Stone Field veterans there on the night. Bunch of Skankas & The Tholtan Builders are providing the entertainment so not one to be missed!

Friday 3rd July – Love your Beach

Friday has an impressive list of events all focussed on or beside Port Erin Beach. Beach Volleyball, Scallop Shell Open Water Swims, Flipper Football, a live samba band, a limbo competition, The Fairly Famous Family and a Barbeque by TV Celebrity Chefs Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix.

There will also be a beach bar serving wine, beer and tropical Manx cocktails thanks to Martin at The Bay pub.

Port Erin will certainly be THE place to be on the Island and we’re sure there will be a great atmosphere. With so much going on adults and kids will have a great night at the beach.

Thanks to Sure for sponsoring Friday’s fantastic beach event.

More details on Friday’s event can be found here >>>

Sales & Tales, what a scorcher!

The bay of Port Erin hosted the Sales and Tales event on Wednesday night and once again we were bathed in glorious sunshine.

The evenings events kicked off at 5pm with over 150 local children gathering along Port Erin Beach and a few keen adults joining in whilst others relaxed outside the Cosy Nook enjoying the the usual hospitality combined with tasty treats including Manx Queenies and bacon.

A cannon boomed and across the bay on the flat calm water a boat was seen heading to the beach. The crowds gathered on the waterline as the boat neared and landed with local past figures such as James Kelly (the only survivor of the Brig Lily disaster and Juan Robin (skipper of the local smuggling boat Mauthe Dhoo) amongst others, all of whom were played by actors making their way up the beach where campfires were lit along various locations.

The groups were then split up and lead around to each small fire where they were told local yarns and manx tails about the maritime history of the Isle of Man.

In addition to the story telling the groups were also introduced to a number of boats thanks to the 7th Wave team.

It was great to see the children asking questions and interacting with the story tellers and I am sure the event was enjoyed by everyone young and old.

No doubt the Queenies, local food along with a few glasses/bottles of wine (for the adults) rounded of a succesful sun blessed evening of Sales and Tales in the stunning setting of Port Erin bay overlooked by Bradda Head and Milners Tower.

Thursday 2nd July – It’s all Beneath Us

Thursday will be a fantastic day for underwater enthusiasts. This includes diving, snorkelling and fishing. With both a junior fishing competition from Port St Mary breakwater and an adults competition aboard local charter boat ‘Gemini’, parents and kids can get involved in the fun. For those wanting to try diving or snorkelling instruction will be given on Chapel Beach and will be a great introduction to the sport.

For those not wanting to be quite so energetic we are also very lucky to have footage from underwater in Manx seas which will be projected onto a big screen in the Carrick Bay Factory at the top of the Alfred Pier in Port St Mary.

Special thanks to Paddy’s Market for their sponsorship of Thursdays events.

More details of Thursdays events can be found here >>>

Fun on the Water goes Swimmingly!

The weather was in our favour again tonight and ‘Fun on the Water’ at the The Shore Hotel and Gansey went swimmingly.

Actually, quite literally as the first legs of the Scallop Shell Swims got under way. With contestants travelling from across to take part this was a really great event to watch. Have to say I chickened out this year!! The main swim was 1mile long and was won in a time well under 30 minutes which is pretty impressive.

The Kayaking sessions provided by Adventurous Experiences went down extremely well too and I believe a couple of the groups heading out had a couple of playful Seals swimming along with them! There was also a kayak race and Dinghy sailing to entertain the crowds gathered along the seafront to watch and cheer on the competitors. It was fantastic to see Gansey so busy especially on such a good night.

Manx Queenies were back on the menu with barbeque and of course the special Queenie Festival beer brewed especially to compliment the sweet taste of the Manx Queenie by Okell’s.

To round the night off nicely Truman Falls set up outside the Shore for an evening of live music. Queenie Beer was flowing pretty nicely when we left so I’m sure there’s still many hardy souls making the most of the weather and the festival.

Wednesday 1st July – Sails and Tales

Wednesday’s Sails and Tales will be a great event for families with all the activities focussed around Port Erin Beach. Actors in period costumes will regale enchanting tales from the past around small bonfires on Port Erin Beach. The cosy Nook Cafe will be open for food and refreshments and 7th Wave will be providing an introduction to boats and sailing with prizes on offer in the ‘design a boat’ competition.

Wednesday promises to be a fantastic evening, especially for the children who will be well looked after as they visit the various story tellers on the beach.

Wednesday’s entertainment has been kindly sponsored by the Falcon’s Nest Hotel.

More information on Wednesday’s event can be found here >>>

‘Fishing into the Past’ a great success.

Tonight’s opening event, Fishing into the Past, was a great success and proved a fantastic way to get the Festival underway. The weather remained good to us and the green outside Mount Tabor was packed with people enjoying the sunshine and the activities. I’ve added a whole load of photos to the Queenie Festival Flickr page if you’d like to see more.

The re-enactment was really well put together and told the story of the fishing industry to the Isle of Man, and Port st Mary in particular, over the years. Manx Queenie Paella was served with traditional Spuds ‘n’ Herrin’ whilst live music and the Fairly Famous family entertained everyone.

It was also great to see the photographic display in Mount Tabor capturing ‘A day in the Life of Port St Mary’ from 1979. I could recognise a few faces and it was great to see some of the hairstyles and fashions from back in the day. The display will remain in Mount Tabor for the next couple of days for anyone that didn’t get down to see it tonight.

Tuesday 30th June – Fun on the Water

As part of the Queenie Festival’s Celebration of the Sea, Tuesday night is sure to cater for all those adventurous types with a range of activities topped off with a barbeque and live music at the Shore Hotel, Gansey.

There is a sailing regatta for Dinghy sailors organised by Jenny Quillin of 7th Wave; the first leg of the Scallop Shell Swims – an open water swimming event for anybody that fancies taking on either the extreme or novice courses set up by Mark Gorry; And Keirron Tastagh and his Adventurous Experiences team will be offering kayak trips from the foreshore whereby you can give sea kayaking a go,  groups will go out 10 at a time with a team leader.

We are really thankful to Tower Insurance for their Sponsorship of Fun on the Water.

So whether you want to get stuck in or just watch all of the activities whilst you enjoy the barbeque and music, Tuesday night is set to be an extremely popular and fun night out for the whole family.

More information on Tuesday’s events can be found here.

Cornaa Fish Hatchery Open Day – All Welcome

To coincide with the Isle of Man Queenie Festival the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry will be opening the Fish Hatchery at Cornaa on Wednesday 1st July from 10.00 – 16.00.

Come and see the fish and learn how the hatchery produces up to 25,000 rainbow trout every year for stocking out to the Island’s reservoirs. Follow the life cycle of the trout and even feed the fish on a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting day out for all the family.

For further details or directions please phone 812224 or 685857

Queenie Festival Programmes now on sale!

Official programmes are now on sale at retailers and newsagents around the Island. The programme not only has everything you need to know about the activities and events but also includes exclusive discounts with a number of local businesses, a chance to win Kaiser Chiefs’ tickets and of course the all important Queenie Conundrum.

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