About

The 2021 festival this year will be a virtual event involving new videos especially recorded for the event. These include video workshops, museum tours, behind the scenes tours of your favourite places, like the Captain Cook Museum, Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby Museum, Quayside Fish & Chips, Whitby Harbour, and Whitby Library.

There will be special talks on displays, pratical workshops, fascinating history, seafood cooking demonstrations from the Magpie Cafe, music from Whitby Sea Festival featuring sea balladeers and shantymen and much more. Watch this space!

The weekend will feature an exciting line-up up of scheduled videos, seen for the first time at the 2021 Virtual Fish & Ships (15-16 May) showing you eveything you love about Whitby, and discovering so much more. 

It is hoped the 2022 festival will return next May.

Here's what you can look forward to at the 2021 virtual festival on the Discover Yorkshire Coast Youtube Channel 

Magpie Cafe

Moules Marinière - Watch the head chef from the Magpie restaurant demonstrate how to cook Moules Marinère and King Scallops; including all manner of hints and tips so you can try the recipe yourself.& King Scallops

Captain Cook Memorial Museum

Captain Cook's Cures for Scurvy - , Eat Your Greens! Scurvy Grass, Sea Celery and Captain Cook. A look at some of the print of plants collected on Cook’s first voyage

Who Invented the Sandwich, A look at the portrait of Lord Sandwich in the Captain Cook Memorial Museum to find out how the sandwich came into being.

Hodge's Resolution in Pack Ice - A volunteer talks about her favourite painting – a sketch of the ship Resolution in pack ice by voyage artist William Hodges

Captain Cook Kids – Sauerkaut, Boomerang, Banksia Nut, Whitby Harbour by John Bird, & Sailor’s Farewell

Rock the Boat! - How to make a rocking box of fish and ships!

Funky Fish! - How to make a recycled fish sculpture and learn about keeping our beaches clean.

Coral Calamity! - How to make an underwater coral scene.

How to Measure Longitude & How to Measure Latitude 

Jolly Jane Tar - The story of a girl who went to sea; performed in story and song.

Quayside Fisheries

The Journey - See how Quayside Whitby turn their fresh ingredients into high quality, tasty fish and chips.  From the fishmonger to the british potatoes rumbled and chipped on site to the secrets of the batter and how it's all cooked.

Whitby Sea Festival Sea Songs & Sea Shanties

The Endeavour Shanty - Song performed by The Endeavour Shantymen

Chips & Fish - New and Exclusive

Old Whitby Town with Whitby Schools

Videos from artists - Hugie Jones, Beth Burrows, Lynda & Alan Hardcastle,The Bounty Hounds and  another duo Janie Meneely and Rob van Sante

Pannett Art Gallery 

Making Waves - Looking at paintings of the sea from the Pannett Art Gallery before trying out different techniques and materials to create your own waves.

Ship and Sea Shanty - Marine-themed paintings from the Pannett Collection accompanied by a  catchy Whitny themed Sea Shanty written and performed by Michael King.

Sea: The Bigger Picture, Gathering Flithers by Thomas Barrett - Artist and Actor Steve Huison (Full Monty) talks about the aquatint Gathering Flithers by Thomas Barrett, one of the Staithes Group of Artists at the Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby

Sea: The Bigger Picture, Low Tide on the Beck by Harrington Mann - Low Tide on the Beck by Harrington Mann. Artist and Actor Steve Huison (Full Monty) talks about painting styles, looking at paintings from the Pannett Art Gallery.

Sea: The Bigger Picture, Boats in Rough Sea by Frank Henry Mason - Boats in Rough Sea by Frank Henry Mason. Artist and Actor Steve Huison (Full Monty) talks about painting styles, looking at paintings from the Pannett Art Gallery.

Sea: The Bigger Picture, Cobles Leaving Staithes by Joseph Bagshawe - Cobles Leaving Staithes by Joseph Bagshawe. Artist and Actor Steve Huison (Full Monty) talks about painting styles, looking at paintings from the Pannett Art Gallery.

Sea: The Bigger Picture, Focus on Fishermen

Fireside Read by Ernest Higgins Rigg, Vegetable Market, Bruges by Mark Senior, Flowers by Edward Conway, The Journey

Whitby Library 

How to Make an Origami Boat

An Interview with Frank Meadow Sutcliffe

A Tour of Whitby Library

Whitby Poets and Writers

Liz Millions Children's Stories

Whitby Museum 

Scoresby's Arctic

Whitby Museum Fossil Collection

Whitby Harbour

A Tour of Whitby Harbour - This is a decription of the inner workings of Whitby Harbour by the Harbour Master, Chris Burrows. 

The Price of a Chip Supper 

A one-act, one-man play performed by Ken O'Hara as Rab. Rab is a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him,  The decline of the Scottish fishing industry and the loss of his brother have hit him hard.  This play is being presented as part of the Whitby Fish and Ships Festival in honour and recognition of the shared heritage and dangers experienced by fishermen throughout the UK. - WARNING THIS CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND IS SUITABLE FOR OVER 18's ONLY.