Seafood Festival is a treat for seafood enthusiasts

PUFFER jackets and mushroom heaters were the heroes of the day as Windhoek’s seafood enthusiasts braved the winter chill to dive into the Bank Windhoek Seawork Seafood Festival on Saturday.

Transforming Olympia Swimming Pool into a splash of seafood stalls, kids’ entertainment, buzzing bars and an electrifying music stage featuring, among others, The Ells, The Yesterdaye, Gareth Harvey, Roadhouse Blues and Riaan Smit, the two-day festival returned for its second season to treat land-locked Windhoekers to the bounty of the sea.

“The festival provided an opportunity for the inhabitants of Windhoek to experience the wide range of seafood offerings available at the Seawork Windhoek Fish Shop and to encourage a greater interest in seafood inland,” says Seawork Fish Processors’ marketing manager, Oliver Binneman.

“As one of the title sponsors of the Bank Windhoek Seawork Seafood Festival, we were delighted with the overall success of this year’s event. Despite the challenging chilly weather, the response was fantastic. We received positive feedback about the quality and variety of the seafood, as well as the atmosphere of the entire event.”

For avid seafood samplers, the festival offered a respectable array of everything from Bee Gees’ buttery crayfish tails, freshly shucked oysters and mussel soup to SKW Brauhaus’ comforting calamari and chips. Not neglectful of non-seafood eaters, stalls like The Handle Bar teased assorted burgers, chicken nuggets and chips, while various bars served wine, cocktails, beer and GlühGin.

The relatively pricey festival, which drew approximately 1200 visitors, additionally included a charity fund­raiser at Olympia Swimming Pool ahead of the public events.

“As one of the leading fish processors in Namibia, Seawork wanted to showcase and promote its premium quality seafood products, as well as create awareness for our non-profit initiative – Seawork Cares,” says Binneman.

“Giving back to the community is an integral part of Seawork’s values. We held a closed event called the ‘Havana Nights Charity Fundraiser and Auction, on Thursday 27 July. This event was focused purely on generating funds for Seawork Cares to help us continue promoting education in rural areas which we do by providing healthy meals to children attending school. Currently, we support more than 2 500 children with meals daily,” Binneman says.

“At Seawork, we are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those in need, contributing to the well-being of our society.”

Ending with patrons huddled amiably around fires, if not rocking out on the stage, the Bank Windhoek Seawork Seafood Festival remains a fun foodie event with a big heart.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com