Ocean festival entertains and educates
The Scottburgh Ocean Festival had a variety of activities for everyone.
This year’s Ocean Festival in Scottburgh, commemorating World Oceans Day (June 8), was another great success for people of all ages.
Ocean conservation was encouraged through the themes engagement, education and economics.
The festival ran from June 6-9, and there was a variety of activities and entertainment for everyone. To top it all off, on the final day of the festival, the sardines decided to arrive on the South Coast.
“The ocean was alive, and we were fortunate to have some fantastic marine wildlife encounters over the weekend as we worked towards conserving this space,” said Ocean Festival founder Russel Symcox.
He added that the festival team is grateful for all the support and noted that the beach clean-up helped remove 350kg of litter from Scottburgh beaches. There was also the Aliwal Shoal Reef clean, which saw the team from Scubaco Diving and local diving operators clean up this Marine Protected Area.
“We’re also very proud of our international partners in Iceland, England, Portugal, the UAE and Malaysia, who adopted the Ocean Festival, and look forward to next year’s event,” he said.
Some of the highlights from this year’s event included live art creation by renowned local muralist Giffy Duminy, sponsored by Apex Environmental. Throughout the festival, the public got a rare viewing of Giffy in action, creating an ocean-inspired mural on the Nipper Clubhouse at Scottburgh Beach.
Film lovers were also treated to an exclusive film screening at Premier Hotel Cutty Sark of X Trillion – a tale of 14 women who sailed the world to investigate the impact of microplastics in the ocean. Place of Thorns: The Story of Puerto Escondido also captivated audiences with the story of one of Mexico’s most famous surfing waves.
Keeping it festive was the live music at Cutty Sark, with the crowds entertained with great performances by Tatum Holder and Gavin Welsh.
There were also health and wellness sessions on the main beach lawn. First was the sunrise yoga with Laura Koenig and Lauren Lewin, which encouraged starting the day with meditation and mindfulness. Local Nia instructor and wellness expert, Liz Cunningham, then gave a Wellness Movement and Nia class filled with fun, laughter, and dance.
A series of talks and workshops centred on ocean conservation were also held. Learners from Umdoni Christian Academy listened to talks by marine biologists and ocean education facilitators from SAAMBR on reducing, reusing and recycling plastics.
Widenham Retirement Village residents got to learn about the migratory habits of turtles from scientist Natalie dos Santos, while Dr Ryan Daly spoke on the secret lives of Zambezi sharks.
And lastly, sports enthusiasts were kept busy at Scottburgh’s main beach with the inaugural Ocean Carnival, which showcased the skills of young lifesavers, while also being a fundraiser for the upcoming World Lifesaving Games in Australia.
The Ocean Festival Surf Pro, won by Michael Venter in the Men’s Open and Nina Dirkze Van Schalkwyk in the Women’s Open, saw competitors enjoying the best right-hand point breaks on the South Coast, while the Made for More Para Surf Session showed just what these inspirational athletes can do. The festival concluded with the epic Leatherback Rum Surfski Challenge.
“If you missed this year’s epic event, don’t get caught out next year, June 6-8,” said Symcox.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
