We hope you're hungry, because the Port Phillip Mussel and Jazz Festival is back for a celebration of music and molluscs. On March 9 and 10 from 11am to 9pm, South Melbourne Market will come alive as some of the market's best loved restaurants shell out (see what we did there?) plenty of seafood dishes showcasing mussels. Past eateries that have been involved include Claypots Evening Star, Simply Spanish, Bambu, Claw and Tail, Mike's Mussels and Gem Pier Seafood.
This year, you can also feast on French pastries, porchetta rolls, German street food, cannoli and a whole lot more, with giant seagulls on the market grounds for plenty of photo opps. Cecil Street will be closed to traffic, and there'll also be free cooking demonstrations, workshops, roving performers, giveaways and fun activities for the kids.
Best of all, the festival is once again teaming up with the Nature Conservatory and supporting the 'Shuck Don't Chuck' campaign. Festival-goers are encouraged to dispose of their mussel shells in special bins so that they can be turned into habitats for baby mussels and oysters to grow on.
On the music front, it's all about the city's best jazz and soul musicians, with the full festival program listed at the website. Wanna get involved? You can apply to be a stallholder here.
