It was with great pleasure that I attended this year’s Portarlington Mussel Festival.

Volunteering on the main gate was a lot of fun, and it was a joy to see so many people from the region excited to see the mussel festival back.

From the humble beginnings of a street stall in 2007 the Portarlington Mussel Festival is now one of the most popular community events in Victoria, with over 30,000 attending in recent years.

Since that time thanks to the hard work of determined volunteers the festival has gone from strength to strength. Of course the festival highlights and celebrates the quality product of the local mussel industry. But it does far more than that.

With around 200 stalls visitors get to sample a wide range of quality produce from the Bellarine, including our world-class wine and food. In addition people enjoy music and other entertainment across five stages.

This year the art show was also very popular, with artists from right across the peninsula and beyond exhibiting a diverse range of art mediums.

Thanks to this festival nearly a quarter of a million dollars now has been raised and contributed back into local community initiatives.

I take this opportunity to congratulate the committee on their dedication in putting back on this festival this year after COVID, and I sincerely thank all of those volunteers that have once again made this mussel festival an outstanding success.