The Chamber manages two annual festivals to celebrate the culture and history of the town. The Apollo Bay Seafood Festival takes place in February at the height of summer and WinterWild Apollo Bay in the depths of August during the region’s tempestuous winter.
The Apollo Bay Seafood Festival takes place over a single weekend. It opens on the Friday night with a lavish pescatarian banquet in a local hall overseen by a visiting chef and featuring local seafood and regional produce. The 2020 event, Down the Hatch, was created by Chef Alejandro Saravia.
The Saturday is taken up with Harbour Day, featuring an ‘Off the Boat’ Seafood Market followed by a day of live music and pop-up restaurants and bars, all around the picturesque Apollo Bay Harbour.
The Sunday features an intimate series of talks and discussions around sustainable fisheries, Indigenous knowledge, cooking and ecology. Past speakers have included Bruce Pascoe, Matthew Evans and David Moyle.
WinterWild Apollo Bay is an arts festival that celebrates the extremes of the Otways winter and draws on the darker side of its history. It takes place over two weekends in August. A program of outdoor events called the DogWatch features a locally created large-scale performance and parade using many iconic local locations and ending in a huge bonfire. Live music is staged in local venues, a dark-themed banquet is held in the Mech Hall and the program finishes with an outdoor dance party by the harbour.
