Last weekend the San Remo Fisherman’s Co-op attended the Apollo Bay Seafood Festival, in preparation for San Remo’s own seafood festival, TIDAL.

To be held on the San Remo foreshore on September 15-17 this year, TIDAL is San Remo’s very own celebration of its connection to the sea and the fishing industry that has helped shape the town.

The TIDAL committee has been working hard behind the scenes to rebrand the Fishing Festival into a multi-day, family friendly event and has been working closely with organisers of last weekend’s Apollo Bay Seafood Festival. When the chance to get involved in the festival came up, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

“Bill Fraser and the committee in Apollo Bay run a world-class event, so when we were invited to get an inside look, we couldn’t say no,” says Paul Mannix, Manager of the San Remo Fisherman’s Co-op.

So Paul and Nick Say from the Westernport Hotel volunteered their time to head to the festival with the idea of selling the Co-op’s famous Grilled Gummy Burger to the masses, while promoting San Remo’s event and learning as much as they could about what makes a great fishing festival.

“It was a win-win-win,” said Jim’s Bait & Tackle owner, Craig Edmonds, who’s heading up the San Remo committee.

“We added some value to the Apollo Bay event, we learnt a lot that we can bring back to San Remo, and 100 per cent of the profits from our stall on the day went back to the Traders Association to help make TIDAL the best event it can be.”

Paul and Nick sold out of Gummy Burgers in a hectic three hours, which made for a long trip home to San Remo.

“It really highlighted the demand for what we do well in San Remo – fresh fish straight from our local fishers, cooked simply and treated with respect. We can’t wait to do the same with all the local traders on board in September.”

Keep up to date with TIDAL Seafood Festival at tidalseafoodfest.com.au