In July 2024 Open Road created and produced a community programme for Aberdeen’s first Festival of the Sea. Over the course of the two week festival we welcomed over 1500 people to over 40 events. They included performances, exhibitions, talks, film screenings, workshops, craft fairs, seaside walks and more. All programmed across Aberdeen’s harbourside communities of Fittie and Torry.
With thanks to Greyhope Community Hub, Greyhope Bay, Deemouth Artist Studios, the Fittie Community Development Trust, Citymoves and the Fittie Bar, as well as everyone who helped make the festival happen.
Harbour Voices podcasts: Festival of the Sea
We created a special series of our Harbour Voices podcast for the Festival of the Sea 2024, bringing to life some of the stories and perspectives of Aberdeen Harbour and the sea and environment it connects with.
Episode One
Fisherman Hans Unkles wants a different way of doing things. With a band of fellow eco-aware fishermen, he took apart his old boat and refited it with cutting-edge electronic tech. In this Harbour Voices podcast we take a deep dive with Hans into his building, learning, making mistakes, chopping and welding a path to an easier, and more environmentally friendly way of fishing.
Episode Two
The second episode in this series features an interview with Willie Deas, skipper of The Reaper – a former Fifie Sailing Herring Drifter. This type of boat was the most popular design of fishing boat on the East Coast of Scotland for the greater part of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Today The Reaper is the flagship of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, and is berthed in Anstruther harbour outside the Museum. She is now equipped as a floating museum of the herring industry and sailed to Aberdeen to be part of the Festival of the Sea programme. In this episode Willie shares his lifetime of knowledge of The Reaper, fishing industry and the sea.
Episode Three
In this episode we interview composer Annabel Kershaw who has been commissioned by sound festival to create a new musical score called The Mariner’s Daughter. Annabel has interviewed a number of women for this commission and recorded their experiences, perspectives and connections with the North Sea, either through work or family. Her final musical score will include extracts from their rich and colourful verbatim stories of the sea, all of which have inspired the music.
Episode Four
In this episode of the Harbour Voices podcast, Jack Elphinstone, a Countryside Ranger for Aberdeen City Council, shared his journey to becoming a ranger and the various responsibilities that come with the role. Tune in to this Festival of the Sea episode to hear Jack’s story and learn more about his work.
Episode Five
In this Festival of the Sea episode of our Harbour Voices podcast, Rosie Paynes, a surfer from the Wavy Wahines—a fantastic female surf group based in Aberdeen—shares insights about the group and the surfing scene in Aberdeen. Tune in to hear all about the Wavy Wahines and their adventures on the waves!