The annual Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival returns to South Melbourne Market on the Labour Day long weekend Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10.
Closing down all of Cecil Street in such an urban hot spot is no small feat, but the market will be buzzing with a street party and celebrating the vibrant fresh seafood that Victorian coastal waters provide.
Set to the city’s best jazz and soul musicians, the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival will feature a great range of street food vendors (for the non-seafood lovers, there will still be plenty to choose from), a main stage of live music, bar, workshops, cooking demonstrations, kids' activities, roving performances, giveaways and more! It's free, family-friendly and a whole lot of fun.
The Food:
Come hungry! The event is renowned for its delicious seafood offerings, with some Melbourne favourites popping up at the two-day event to showcase their mouth-watering mussel and seafood dishes! If seafood and mussels are not your thing, don’t despair, as there will be a diverse range of food stalls at the festival, plus the entire market will be open during the day, so you can feast on market favourites including French pastries, porchetta rolls, German street food, cannoli and more!
Shuck Don't Chuck!
Did you know more than six tonnes of mussels are consumed at the festival each year? That's a lot of shells! South Melbourne Market partners with The Nature Conservancy all year round to recycle oyster, scallop and mussel shells so they don't end up in landfills.
The Shuck Don’t Chuck program sees shells used in a reef restoration project aimed at rebuilding the precious ecosystems in Port Phillip Bay.
Jazz:
Featuring 11 of Melbourne's best soul and jazz musicians, be sure to check out the music lineup here.
