After a decade-long hiatus, Seafest will return to the Squirrel Cove General Store grounds on Saturday, May 20th.

Seafest is hosted by the Cortes Island Seafood Association (CISA). Originally called Oysterfest beginning in the 1990s, it hasn’t taken place in Squirrel Cove since 2013.

The annual seafood saga is a regional cuisine sampler that has not run anywhere since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was hosted at the Gorge Harbour Marina grounds.

The festival historically admits 200-800 people, but Curt Cunningham is hoping this time around is specifically focused on the local community. Cunningham has owned the Squirrel Cove General store and its surrounding grounds for eight years. He has never been to a Seafest event. 

“Unfortunately, I've been working every time that it's been going on, so I'm going into this a little bit blind, but there's a lot of help with people that are experienced to know what's going on, so we're relying on them to lend a hand and to make it successful,” he said.

The general store owner said that community needs were a primary motivation for bringing Seafest back to Squirrel Cove.

“It's an opportunity to bring life back to Squirrel Cove, which we need to do and to support the community, support the oyster farmers and Seafest…the community is getting behind us to help promote this,“ he said.

 Cunningham hopes the event will help engage the community in ways that will enliven the spaces at the Squirrel Cove General Store. 

“There's a lot of potential, a lot that we can do. And we're open to ideas from people and whatever someone would like to see and help create, we're open,“ he said.

To hear more about ways the community is gathering at Squirrel Cove, listen to the CKTZ News update below: