Events

The Mornington Peninsula Riders Group invites riders to attend the Portarlington Mussel Festival on Saturday 14th January, 2023. This is an open event for any club riders from across the Mornington peninsula, Melbourne central and beyond. We are looking forward to a fun day out and an opportunity to meet up with fellow riders to enjoy this event.

The Plan for Mornington Peninsula riders and others who would like to join in:

8.30 am (Now changed to 8.00 am): Depart from the old Garden of Eden Nursery (previously Linton's nursery, now site offices for Nursing home build across the road), cnr Nepean Hwy and Canadian Bay road, Mt Eliza.

9.00 am (Now changed to 8.30 am): Depart BP Service station- 1 Marine drive (Cnr with Beach rd), Safety Beach (Pick up any riders)

9.30 am (Now changed to 9.15-9.30 am): Arrive Sorrento Ferry Terminal at wharf and board ferry

10.00 am: Ferry departs for Queenscliff (45 min journey; kick back, relax, buy a coffee. Have something to eat).

10.45 am: Arrive at the Queenscliff Ferry Service, Wharf Street East, Queenscliff.

11.15 am: Arrive at the Mussel Festival: 1A The Esplanade, Portarlington (see map below of festival site)

3.30 pm: Depart festival.

4.30 pm: Arrive Queenscliff Ferry Service, Wharf Street East, Queenscliff.

5.00 pm: Depart via ferry to Sorrento

5.45 pm: Arrive Sorrento Ferry Terminal and travel home, exhausted but having had a very fun day! :)

Purchase of ferry tickets: We will check whether these need to be booked in advance. To be advised. Cost: One way: $41; Return: $75

The plan for other riders from across Melbourne and beyond that would like to attend:

Feel free to make you own arrangements and meet us at the festival or meet us at either meet up points as indicated above. Indicate your plans in the comments thread below and Tony Renzalla and I will keep track of it.

About the festival

The Portarlington Mussel Festival is held from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM on the second Saturday in January every year in the picturesque village of Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. The next festival is Saturday 14th January, 2023.

Portarlington is a historic coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, 28 km from the city of Geelong.

Some information from the website: http://www.portmusselfestival.com/

How much is entry? It costs just $5 cash per adult, and free for kids, to enter the Portarlington Mussel Festival with all surpluses redistributed to local charities and community organisations for the benefit of the community.

Is there an ATM on site? There will be an ATM near the entrance but it is always very busy, so PLEASE bring small cash denominations with you, and most stallholders do not have EFTPOS facilities. The closest ATM outside the festival is at Bendigo Bank, on the corner of Harding St and Newcombe St.

Note: Website will take you to all information about the festival which includes the following information: http://www.portmusselfestival.com/

History of the festival

The Portarlington Mussel Festival started as a street festival back in 2007 as a way to celebrate and promote the local mussel industry. Today it’s grown into one of the most popular community festivals in Victoria with over 30,000 visitors, live music all day long, hundreds of market stalls and a whole lotta delicious mussels. A great day out for the whole family!

As a community event, it is run entirely by a team of dedicated volunteers who volunteer their time to ensure the festival is a success year after year. Thanks to their efforts, the event has already redirected over $230,000 to community initiatives.

Set against the backdrop of picturesque Portarlington beach, this one-day festival is the perfect reason to explore the Bellarine Peninsula this summer. And best of all, leave the car at home and catch the ferry that runs directly between Docklands and Portarlington!

For a very reasonable $5 cash donation per adult (kids are free), you can enjoy a full day of activities including:

• Live music over three main stages all day long
• Mussels cooked in a variety of styles
• Kids activities
• Cooking demonstrations
• Art & Photo exhibitions
• Classic car displays
• Beer and wine tasting
• Over 200 market stalls

Find us at Portarlington Park in the heart of Portarlington from 9:30am-5pm. For more information about transport options to the festival check out this page.

The Mussel Industry

Starting with a handful of farmers in 1982, the industry now boasts over 20 mussels farmers in Port Phillip Bay.

Most commonly grown are the tasty blue mussels which are sweet in flavour, high in protein and low in fat. The mussel industry is very labour intensive with much of the work very much dependent on the weather.

Weather permitting the boats can run seven days a week doing spat collections, socking, harvesting & maintenance.
Mussels are one of the least expensive seafoods, are extremely versatile and easy to prepare – making them extremely popular and ideal for an economical tasty meal!