Seafood & Sounds returns to Poole in September

Poole's Seafood & Sounds is back for its fourth year, taking over the town on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. It is a free, family-friendly weekend that runs from 11:00 to 17:00 on both days, and it was put together by five local business owners: Coastal Cruises, Custom House, Poole Arms, St TrOpez Lounge and Truly Scrumptious, with support from Poole BID and headline sponsor The Dolphin Centre.

The music is the biggest part of it. There are nine stages spread across the town, with 40 acts playing each day, and the programme runs the full six hours on both the Saturday and the Sunday. On the Saturday, things kick off at 11:00 with a colourful opening parade that starts at the Slug & Lettuce and winds through the cobbled streets of Old Town down to Poole Quay. For anyone who wants to get involved rather than just listen, there are live cookery demonstrations at The Dolphin Centre and culinary workshops at the White Pepper Chef Academy.

Sunday leans a bit more towards the workshops, with free music sessions at St James' Church and the 'Walk & Talks with Hattie'. Running alongside all of that is a town-wide artisan market with more than 60 independent traders selling handcrafted goods, local produce and artisan food. For families, there are children's activity zones, circus skills workshops at Falkland Square and an interactive Oyster Trail to follow.

If you are planning to make a full day of it, there are two nearby additions worth knowing about. The festival falls on the same Saturday as the Brownsea Island Community Open Day, when around 900 people are expected to get free access to the island. Brownsea is the largest island in Poole Harbour, run by the National Trust and open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. The ferry from Poole Quay is £14.50 for adults and £6.00 for children aged five and over, the crossing takes about twenty minutes, and while entry is free for National Trust members, non-members pay an entry fee on top of the ferry toll. Closer to the centre, Scaplen's Court, a fifteenth-century Grade I listed house next to the Poole Museum, is free to visit all year round and is putting on 'Meet the Cast - Celebrate History' performances in the Upper Hall at 1pm and 3pm on both days, with sea shanties and storytelling tied to Poole's seafaring past.

The festival is spread right across the town, so it is easy to wander between the different sites. The locations include Poole Town Centre, Poole Quay, Old Town, Lower High Street, Falkland Square, Sarum Street, Paradise Street, the Fortuna boat, Nusara Courtyard, St James' Church, Old Orchard, Hotel du Vin, White Pepper Chef Academy, Fish Shambles, Poole Arms, the Sea Music Sculpture and The Absolute Music Trust at St James' Church. That trust is a registered charity, number 1174528, working on music education across Dorset and Hampshire, and it carries a CharityScore of 95 out of 100, which puts it in the Platinum bracket. With the music running from 11:00 to 17:00 on both days, there is plenty of room to pick your favourite stages and fill in the gaps with the market and the workshops.