LIVERPOOL – The South Shore is about to set sail with a new event, featuring one of the best things the area has to offer: lobster.
Nova Scotia’s first annual Lobster Crawl is a veritable feast of more than 50 sip and savour experiences, lobster getaways, sporting events, art, music, heritage, film, local shopping events and 13 different lobster rolls served up by resorts, restaurants, cafes, pubs and U-cooks from Barrington up the shore to Peggy's Cove.
“We’re honestly thrilled with the enthusiasm and level of participation and collaboration in Lobster Crawl,” says Donna Hatt, chairwoman of the South Shore tourism co-operative. “This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate Nova Scotia’s lobster industry, bring guests closer to fishermen and women, and of course savour and sample lobster in season. It’s a natural, and honestly obvious, opportunity for not only tourism but many businesses.”
Nova Scotia is known for lobster, most notably as a summer experience. This event, however, aims to build on Barrington’s reputation as Lobster Capital of Canada and is about to put that summer experience to the test. Since introducing the concept of a winter event based on the region’s lobster industry, the co-operative says feedback has been very positive not only from businesses but from organizations like Taste of Nova Scotia, the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia and the Lobster Council of Canada.
Hatt, who is also White Point’s marketing manager, says the resort is a champion and partner in this project, advocating for winter tourism and the lobstering industry.
On the first weekend of the festival, from Feb. 2 to 4, White Point will be hosting a Devour! biosphere food film fest, partnering with Chef Michael Howell from Wolfville to take guests on a culinary journey. Participants will be able to taste the food of the biosphere reserve, which will likely include not only lobster but also sea lettuce, dulse, scallops, sardines, sea cucumbers and more.
Besides serving up a lobster roll in the dining room, decking the resort out in lobster décor and giving away chocolate lobsters, White Point will also be hosting a talk called Lobster Tales with lobster fisherwoman Sarah Allen, among other events.
It’s not just the restaurants who are excited about the South Shore’s lobster crawl. The Plaid Cat Gift Gallery in Liverpool is planning on tailoring its store hours to compliment the hours of event activities in the local area, says owner Mel Rutledge. The shop will showcase items related to the lobster industry, including rope mats and baskets made entirely of recycled lobster rope from local lobster fisherman, block print lobster cards, painted buoys and paintings of lobster boats and buoys.
“These creative artists have embraced the event and are coming up with other ideas,” says Rutledge.
Liverpool’s Sipuke'l Gallery will also be hosting an exhibition called Lobster Tales and ARTifacts, featuring a group art show, video, photos and items related to the lobster and fishery industries.
The first annual South Shore Lobster Crawl is a collaborative initiative of the South Shore tourism co-operative, its members and partners from Peggy’s Cove to Charlesville. A key initiative under the 2017-2018 co-operative’s marketing plan to establish the South Shore as a top winter tourism destination.
“The cold, clean Atlantic waters around Nova Scotia grow what we consider to be the best lobster in the world,” says Emily Haynes, executive director of Taste of Nova Scotia.
“The South Shore Lobster Crawl tells our story of the Nova Scotia lobster industry and the people behind it. We’re celebrating our culinary tourism experiences, our fishing history and our local, coastal communities that are the heart of our lobster industry. Fresh Nova Scotia lobster is available year-round and this celebration, in the winter season, is an amazing way to highlight that we are a year-round culinary destination.”
To learn more about the events happening across the South Shore for Lobster Crawl, visit the interactive map at www.lobstercrawl.ca.
