Organizers of the Lund Shellfish Festival are expecting a record number of people to attend their sixth annual celebration of the bounty of the sea.
To kick off this year’s festival a chowder challenge is organized for Friday, May 24, at Lund Community Centre. The challenge runs from 6 to 8 pm and is being organized by Tourism Powell River for the third consecutive year.
People attending the challenge get to sample all 10 chowders that are being entered and then vote by choosing the one they like the best. Tickets have to be purchased in advance and are $15 each from the tourism office.
“Lund is known for its sweet and tender prawns,” said festival organizer Ann Snow, owner of SunLund By-The-Sea Campground.
As well as prawns, the area boasts a variety of seafood from oysters, scallops and clams in Okeover Inlet to geoducks on Savary Island.
“We are having a celebration of all the shellfish in the area,” she added.
The main festival is held on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26. There’s no admission fee for the public to browse the vendors’ stalls, and the vendors will be different each day. Tables of crafts for sale will be set up along the Lund waterfront.
“They’ll also be cooking up as many different recipes of shellfish as you can think of,” said Snow.
There will be cooking demonstrations by local chefs and live music will be performed throughout the weekend.
A recycling centre will be set up and all the food and craft vendors will either recycle their waste or pack it out with them, she said. “This is a zero-waste event and has always been so from day one.”
The festival takes place along the Lund harbour waterfront, between the Boardwalk Restaurant and the Lund Harbour office and up on the lawn of the Lund Hotel.
A shuttle bus is organized to take people between Powell River and Lund. It will cost $2 a person. Organizers are encouraging people to leave their cars at home because parking is limited in Lund.
The festival starts at 11 am each day with the craft vendors opening and the musicians starting to play first. At noon the food booths will be open and each day wraps up at 5 pm.
For more information readers can visit the website for a complete schedule of the festival’s events and the shuttle bus times.
