The 6th annual statewide food and drink festival Seaweed Week begins April 19th, 2024, and will run until April 28th, 2024.
Celebrating Maine’s kelp harvest, Seaweed Week will feature special events, one-time-only menus and limited-edition items from local bars, restaurants, brewers, bakers and more. Participating parties can partake in seaweed food and drink specials – from kelp burgers to craft cocktails – and unique events like seaweed cooking workshops and farm tours.
But First, Why Seaweed?
Many reasons! Seaweed is not only a delicious and versatile dish enriched in essential amino and antioxidants, but it is also good for the ocean and the working waterfront, can feed the world, and is environmentally friendly.
Broken down a little bit further:
- Delicious and Versatile: North Atlantic Kelp, Kombu, Wakame, Sea Lettuce, and Irish Moss species represent a wide range of flavors and culinary uses.
- Happy Oceans: Seaweed creates a habitat for baby lobsters and other marine life. It also sequesters carbon, creates oxygen, and reverses ocean acidification.
- Working Waterfront: At a time when Maine’s traditional waterfront jobs face multiple pressures, lobstermen are turning to aquaculture and kelp farming to diversify their income on the water.
- Health Benefits: Typically, seaweeds have 10x more minerals than land-based plants. Plus vitamins, essential aminos, and antioxidants. Oh, and it’s where fish get their omegas.
- Feed The World: The world needs 50% more food by 2050, with increasing droughts and poor soil. Seaweed is one piece of the global food-security equation.
- Maine = Awesome: Maine is the national leader in seaweed farming and harvest! In 2022 Maine farms harvested over 1,000,000 pounds of kelp from sea farms across the state!
- Shellfish Love: Oyster and mussel growers are adding kelp farms to their operations because beneficial halo effects make their shellfish stronger, healthier, and tastier.
Seaweed Saturday (& Other Events)
Dive into the wonders of Seaweed Week at Seaweed Saturday, a free, all-day expo on April 20th, 2024 running from 11am – 4pm at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.
Seaweed Saturday will be a full day of food, films, art, science, and vendors celebrating this oceanic superfood. Guest can experience the magic of seaweed with public demos, interactive tables, and a marketplace featuring local seaweed farms, businesses, and organizations. Maine Sea Grant will offer hands-on seaweed identification workshops, while local artists will showcase their seaweed-inspired works.
Be sure to catch film screenings throughout the day by the Maine Outdoor Film Festival, featuring captivating seaweed stories and outdoor adventures. Pre-registration is required for film screenings due to limited seating, so reserve your spot on the official GMRI event page now!
Other events during Seaweed Week include:
Maine Seaweeds & Their Wellness Benefits Workshop on April 25th at Botanically Curious.
- During this workshop, discover the benefits of Maine seaweeds; Sit & Sip with Botanically Curious as you discuss the incredible nutrients and healing properties of these ocean superfoods – including how it can support the body from an herbalism/ energetic standpoint. Special Q & A from seaweed farmer Kristin Isfeld from Latitude 43 Farms.
Atlantic Sea Farms Tasting on April 19th at Onggi
- Atlantic Sea Farms will be popping up at Onggi for a product tasting from 11am-3pm. The team will be serving up yummy seaweed bites and free flowing seaweed knowledge.
Participating Businesses:
With over 70 businesses participating annually, Seaweed Week is the largest seaweed food and drink festival in North America.
Here’s a rundown of a few of the restaurants, bars, breweries, and shops in Portland, Maine that participated in 2023:
Seaweed Week is presented by Heritage Seaweed, Maine Sea Grant as well as the Maine Aquaculture Association.
