The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is looking for a promoter that will organize a one-day lobster festival this June.
Executive Director Ian MacPherson says the idea of hosting an event that celebrates the spring lobster season and the impact it has on Island life is something the organization has been looking at for some time. The association has teamed up with the Fall Flavours Festival to hold a lobster event in September and MacPherson says the industry is convinced an early summer event could help extend the tourism season.
MacPherson says when the association looked at the timelines for this year, the new executive decided issuing a request for an event partner was the best way to proceed. The hope is the festival can become a permanent fixture on the Island tourism calendar and grow in size and length.
The association has set a $70,000 budget for the event, which includes a donation of up to $15,000 worth of lobster. The request for proposals mandates the festival be held in a coastal community, preferably near a fishing harbour. MacPherson says the hope would be to attract a significant number of off-Island visitors and increase the market profile of P.E.I. lobsters.
The request for proposals closed March 17 and the association hopes to name the successful bidder soon.
MacPherson acknowledges the time frame is tight, adding it’s one of the main reasons a one-day format was chosen. If it proves to be successful, he says the opportunity is there to work over the fall and winter to organize an expanded version next June.
