Whitby Fish & Ships Festival

Welcome to Day 1 of the Whitby Fish & Ships Festival 2023, taking place on Saturday 20th May.

We have a fantastic lineup planned so check out what's happening below so you don't miss out! The heart of the festival will be located on Dock End and Endeavour Wharf, with other exciting activities happening across the town.

Street Entertainment
- Walkabout Acts including Animated Objects Flotsam & Jetsam and Fisher Lassie ‘Bidi Iredale’
- Exhibitors
- Children’s activities, trampolines, face painting, balloon making and more


Food Theatre, Dock End
10.30am: Trenchers Whitby - officially recognised at the UK’s Best Fish and Chip Restaurant 2019

11.30am: Paul Gildroy, Head Chef at the award-winning Magpie Café, Whitby, and Andrew Barker of Hodgson Fish, winner of Seafish British Craft championship 2018

12.30pm: Eddie Scott - MasterChef winner 2022 hailed as a ‘Culinary Powerhouse’ by John Torode, MasterChef Judge.

2pm: Rob Green - UK Chef Ambassador Seafish UK and owner of Yorkshire Seafood Kitchen with guest, 9 year old Lily Porter of ‘Skills with Lils’ doing a mini demo

3pm: Phil Akrill - Head Chef at Raithwaite Estates, Sandsend

4pm: Community Fridge


Endeavour Wharf Music Tent, 10am - 10pm
There will be a licensed Bar in the music marquee sponsored by Whitby’s 'Storm Scaffolding Co’, selling Whitby Brewery Ale. Hosted by Beth Burrows, John Eaves and Mc Mel Langton.

11am RG, Keelers & Co with Schools Singers | 11.30am Roger Sutcliffe | 12.00pm Interval | 12.55pm Men of Staithes | 1.30pm John Ward Trio | 2.15pm The Sea by Antony Bellekom | 3pm Bob Butterfield Jazz Band | 4pm Flash Jack | 4.30pm Jim Eldon | 5pm The Keelers | m.c Mel Langton | 7pm The Keelers | 7.40pm John Ward Trio | 8.20pm Interval | 8.30pm Richard Grainger and Chris Parkinson | 9.15pm Flash Jack

Bandstand Live Music, 11am - 4pm
Hosted by Mc Mel Langton & Chris Milner.

11am John Ward Trio | 11.40am Flash Jack | 12.20pm Jim Eldon | 1pm Auckland Shanty Singers | 1.40pm Mel Langton | 2.15pm Roger Sutcliffe | 3pm Beth Burrows | 3.30pm Men of Staithes | 4pm Roddy Gordon Acoustic

The Endeavour Experience – Great Cabin, 12pm - 4pm
Hosted by Mc Chris Milner

12pm Chris Milner | 12.30pm Beth Burrows | 1pm Roger Sutcliffe | 1.30pm Interval | 2pm Jim Eldon | 2.40pm Auckland Shanty Singers | 3.15pm Mel Langton

'Facing the Waves' by Dogwood Productions
Dogwood Productions, a Community Interest Company based in Whitby and a producer of theatre, is undertaking a long-term project in Whitby titled 'Facing The Waves'. Dogwood is privileged to be one of two official theatre partners for the RNLI nationally, as it celebrates its 200th anniversary in March 2024.

As part of the festival, Dogwood Productions will be producing three shows: 'The Sea', 'The Shore' and 'The Saved' which will visit eight venues in town across the weekend. Whitby’s past and present are shaped by being a coastal town and the shows look at three different aspects of living by the sea. Each performance lasts 20-30 minutes and can be enjoyed in any order, and admission is free.

'The Sea':
Lifeboat crew have set out from Whitby for more than two centuries, only called into action where there is danger and putting their lives at risk to save others. The show is a mini-musical and features the iconic Victorian lifeboat hero, Henry Freeman.
12pm: The Library
2.15pm: Endeavour Wharf Music Tent

'The Shore':
Throughout history, there have been those at clifftops and jetties, families and loved ones, watching the fishing fleets and the lifeboats take to the sea, uncertain of their fate, hoping and praying.
1pm: Food Village Dock End
3pm: The Library
​​​
'The Saved':
All of those who have been rescued at sea inevitably share the same emotions of fear and relief, but for some the experience has meant quite different things and their experiences, quite extraordinary. None more so than Mary Roberts, the focus of this one act play, as she shares her story with a more recent, survivor.
11am: Captain Cook Museum
3.30pm: The Library


Fish Craft Tent, Endeavour Wharf
​​​​​​Demonstrations of fish craft skills, including filleting by master filleter Andrew Hodgson, net mending, pot making, crab and lobster dressing by LW Shellfish, Lockers Fish and Cod Roe Fishmongers. Cooking demonstrations by Paul Gildroy of the Magpie Café.

​​​​​​Whitby’s New Lobster Hatchery
Enjoy a guided tour of the new visitor centre on Pier Road. You’ll get an insight into why this is an important industry to Whitby, and how we can all help make it sustainable.

Captain Cook Museum
For the 2023 Fish & Ships Festival, the Captain Cook Memorial Museum will host a weekend based around the life of sailors on board. In their special exhibition gazebo, they will detail what the sailors ate, what their hygiene, health, and their schedule would have been like. This will be done through story-telling and using items from our handling collection. There will also be the chance to dress up in costume!

Whitby Museum
This year Whitby Museum is celebrating their 200th anniversary and will be staging an exhibition titled: A Pictorial Journey Along Whibty Harbourside in the 50’s and 60’s. For the children there will also be a fun ‘Fish and Ships Treasure Trail’ in the museum.

Whitby Library
10am and 11.30am (one hour each): Liz Million, children’s author/illustrator will host fish /sea-life drawing workshops
10am - close: Lego club/jigsaws
11am: School choir performance
11.30am - 1pm: Poetry workshop – and launch of F&S anthology
2pm: Shanty Workshop – The Keelers and Jim Mageeans

RNLI
10am - 4pm
Lifeboat station tours. The all-weather Lifeboat and inshore Lifeboat will be open to the public (subject to operations) between these times.

​​​​​​Parkol Marine
Enjoy a guided tour of Whitby’s very own shipyard with a special viewing of any fishing vessels under construction. See an information display of photographs of previously built vessels.

Pannett Art Gallery
Take part in a creative drop-in activities where you can learn about sea birds and their differing nests, why they are different and to what purpose. The sessions will also include creating and decorating your own seabird! Participants can keep their artworks or contribute to a display that features elements of their natural habitat.

Whitby Abbey
Locals Weekend - FREE Entry to YO21 and YO22 postcodes (proof of address required).

Quayside Fisheries
Throughout the weekend, Quayside will be running a promotion in the restaurant at Quayside which will support the Whitby RNLI.