Spirit of the Exe - An Exe-travaganza
Exe-travaganza an Exe-citing Success
Dawlish Warren was home to the Spirit of the Exe Exe-travaganza on Saturday 10th July 2010. The free event was a resounding success with several thousand locals and holiday makers visiting the numerous stalls, workshops and activities throughout the day.
Mrs Underwood from Dawlish enthused, “the stalls were so diverse that it was really interesting to look around and find out more about all of the different aspects of the estuary.”
Creative workshops, using recycled materials, offered visitors the opportunity to create kites, puppets and masks while Mad Science demonstrated the impact of oil pollution on the sea through interactive experiments. Neptune and the Ocean Goddess thrilled the younger crowds with their elaborate costumes and stilt walking and face painters, offering marine themed designs, were kept busy throughout the day creating pirates, crabs and much more.
Jenny Lockett, Exe Estuary Officer and event organiser said, “The event was a fantastic opportunity for people to learn more about the globally important Exe estuary in a fun and interactive environment. My favourite part of the day was our marine litter displays which were created by local primary schools. The 3.5 m long panels used litter from the estuary to communicate key messages about the damaging impacts of litter on our marine environment. It was a really interesting project that the Partnership led in coordination with Dawlish TRAIL artist Carolyn Ballard. The 6 panels provided an interesting and colourful display at the festival as well as raising awareness of this global problem.” Find out more about the displays here!
The event was sponsored by Dawlish Warren Tourism Group, the Crown Estate and the Partnership. It also received substantial support from Teignbridge District Council, the BoatHouse and local community groups in Dawlish.
The event is an annual festival which aims to celebrate and showcase the Exe Estuary and all of her clubs, businesses and community groups. The Dawlish Warren event was the second year of the festival with the 2009 event taking place in Exmouth. The Exe Estuary Management Partnership is now considering venue options in Exeter for 2011.
Councillor Bernard Hughes OBE, Chairman of the Partnership, said “We are really pleased to be able to offer local families this chance to celebrate and learn about the estuary each year. The Exe is a central part of people’s lives in local communities and it is an honour to be able to celebrate its value with those people as well as visitors to the area.”
You can visit the Marine Litter panels, created by local primary schools, along the coast from Shaldon to Dawlish this summer. The trail will be open from Sunday 18 July to Sunday 5 September, please visit http://www.trail.org.uk/ for more information.
First Exe Festival a Great Success!
Saturday 8th August 2009 saw the first of an annual festival event to celebrate the Exe Estuary. The festival combined presentations and informative stands about the Exe with fun family entertainment for all ages.
The event was a fantastic success with several thousand people visiting throughout the day.
Exmouth Mussels 'Taste the Exe' stall was a resounding favourite with everybody keen to try Mussels, cockles and Oysters from the Exe.
Entries to the Exe Estuary Art Competition, were displayed for visitors to the festival to choose the winning entries. The winners can be seen below
The festival provided a showcase for the clubs, organisations and businesses which make the Exe a vibrant and productive place to be.