Rushen MHKs Juan Watterson, Laurence Skelly and Phil Gawne are delighted to announce this year’s Queenie Festival will be held in Port St Mary on 28th and 29th June.

The event has become a mainstay of the Southern Community after it was conceived by Tim Croft in 2008.  We have once again teamed up with lead sponsors Sure to continue the event on the Albert Pier in Port St Mary.

3FM are our media partners once more, building on a number of years of working together in promoting the event, whilst the Manx food extravaganza will once again be sponsored by the Department of Environment Food and Agriculture.  The event will also be run in conjunction with the Manx Wildlife Trust, who will be manning the gates and bringing their iconic touch tanks to allow children of all ages to learn more about our marine habitat.

After taking over the event last year in order to secure its success, the Rushen MHKs are keen to develop the event as a crowd pleaser for the community.  This year sees James Gale, of Switched On Events join the Board of the Festival, bringing his wealth of experience of event management – taking over from the sterling work of Aubrey Brookes last year (who is sadly unable to continue due to other commitments).

Director Juan Watterson said, “We are delighted as MHKs for the area to continue our involvement with this important event in an iconic setting and to provide something for people of all ages to entice them to Port St Mary. We’re also pleased to welcome James Gale to the Board to take this event from strength to strength.”

Director Laurence Skelly added, “For those who have never been, the Festival is a great community event which couldn’t happen without support from our community partners, Sure, 3FM, DEFA and the Manx Wildlife Trust.  This year’s entertainment promise to rival last year’s as we take the festival onwards and upwards.”

Director and DEFA Minister Phil Gawne added, “Manx food is gaining an incredible reputation around the world and we are happy to support awareness of this fantastic range of products, and help in creating a few ideas as to how to make the best of them.  It is great to work alongside the Manx Wildlife Trust in exploring what makes our marine environment so special and worthy of protection to develop this unique food.”

James Gale, Director designate, added “I’m delighted to join the Board and get involved with such an iconic event.  I’m confident that with community support we can build on the previous successes to develop this into a major food and entertainment event in the Manx calendar for many years to come.”