Falmouth Oyster Festival

Falmouth Oyster Festival celebrates the start of the oyster dredging season, the diversity and quality of Cornish Seafood and, in particular, the last remaining traditional oyster fishery in Europe still dredging by sail and hand punt.

A cookery master-class from a celebrity chef opens the event followed by a book signing. Then the four day festival is packed with cookery demonstrations by leading local chefs, there are oysters, seafood, wine and local ale to sample along with children's shell painting, entertainment in the form of sea shanties, a town parade, live music, an oyster shucking competition, a Falmouth Working Boat race and marquees brimming with Cornish produce. The festival is a must for all oyster, seafood and maritime heritage enthusiasts!

Taking place in the town’s Event Square, the Falmouth Oyster Festival has seen an increasing number of Cornish food and drink producers promoting their quality produce alongside the longstanding craft fair stalls in the festival marquee. Festival visitors can savour that expanding range of mouth-watering Cornish food and drink, both on site whilst taking in the festival atmosphere or to take home and enjoy.

Did you know?
Governed by ancient laws that were put in place to protect the natural ecology of the riverbeds and oyster stocks, oystermen fishing in the Port of Truro Oyster Fishery are prohibited from using engines. Instead, sail power and hand-pulled dredges must be used. This is the only oyster fishery in Europe, if not the world, where such traditional methods must be used.