There's no excuse not to know a thing or two about the local fishing industry after this weekend. That's because the seventh annual Working Waterfront Festival is set to descend on the city, providing the public with a unique, firsthand look at the local commercial fishing industry.
"The first year we did it, people looked at us like we were crazy," recalled Laura Orleans, who co-directs the festival with Kirsten Bendiksen.
The pair founded the two-day cultural event as a hands-on, fun way to educate the public on all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table.
"I think some people were expecting a Ferris wheel and cotton candy that first year," Orleans said with a laugh.
"This is so much more than that."
With the 2010 theme, "All in One Boat: The Cultural Mosaic of New England's Working Ports," this weekend's festival will provide an expanded look at the ethnic diversity of the region's working waterfront communities.
Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.