THE Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival is really pushing the boat out this year.

The UK's largest free seafood celebration, now in its ninth year and held at Weymouth harbourside, is bringing its lip-smacking lustre to south Dorset once again today and tomorrow.

Today's events will be held between 10.30am and 6pm, whilst tomorrow's will be from 11am to 5.30pm.

Thousands of festival-goers will be drawn to the 17th century harbour to enjoy one of the UK’s most renowned food festivals, bringing together fresh seafood, champagne and family entertainment.

The festival provides Weymouth with a big boost during its summer season. Last year saw 50,000 visitors attracted to the event.

Organisers were delighted to win two major awards for the festival at the Dorset Tourism Awards last year.

The not-for-profit event is in aid of The Fishermen’s Mission and aims to offer something for everyone, with festival highlights including live cooking demonstrations and the opportunity to learn how to fillet a fish with Billingsgate Seafood Training School.

Every kind of seafood and worldwide cuisine will be available to try, including Thai food, oysters, scallops, Moroccan spiced fish, smoked salmon gravlax, Caribbean snapper curry, seafood paella, fish burritos and lobster rolls.

More than 40 different species of seafood can be caught from Dorset waters. The range covers shellfish like oysters and mussels, which are harvested in the clear waters around Poole and Portland, crab and lobster found all along the Dorset coast, through to flatfish like Dover sole and round fish like sea bass.

This year, head to the Seafish Marquee to enjoy some less common species found in and around the coast.

Many of us are missing out, having never sampled dab, cuttlefish, smooth-hound shark and spider crab. In the marquee you'll be able to go and try some of these more unusual species.

Head into the Masterclass How to Zone for expert tuition on how to get the most from your barbecue under the watchful eye of the expert tutors from Billingsgate Seafood School.

This year you can buy a 60 page festival programme for £3 featuring seafood recipes.

And get ready to encounter Harbour Lives star and owner of Dorset Oysters, Pete Miles, who will be bringing his giant oyster to the festival before it gets ready for the Guinness Book of Records.

ITV’s Barbecue Champion 2015, 'The Womble', Simon Dyer, will be barbecuing mackerel on a pile of coals, with a glass of fizz in one hand and a lemon in the other.

Nick Bryant from Samways Fish in Bridport is crazy about using sustainable local fish and will be showing off his filleting skills.

Other much loved regular chefs attending include the Crab House Cafe’s Nigel Bloxham, River Cottage’s favourite forager John Wright and Dorset’s award-winning Russell Brown, Matthew Budden and Mat Follas.

Tomorrow at 10.30am in the Pavilion Forecourt there will be a blessing in aid of the Fishermen’s Mission. This will be to pray for the fishing community and their families across Dorset. The Mission helps all fishermen, active or retired, and their families and is the only fishermen’s charity that provides emergency support alongside practical and emotional care. Last year the festival donated £8,000 to the Fishermen's Mission.

The blessing will be followed by a Fishes & Loaves cooking session with passionate Dorset restaurateur, author and oyster farmer Nigel Bloxham and champion baker Aidan Chapman.

And keeping things Dorset, the Dorset Food & Drink members will be welcomed to a new pavilion, sponsored by We Are Weymouth.

Festival-goers are urged to come hungry as there is a plethora of mouth-watering, tasty fish dishes prepared by local chefs, restaurateurs and stall holders including Pommery Champagne’s new Louise and Lobster pop up.

Champagne Pommery UK director, Sara Hicks says: ‘If you need time to relax, dip into one of our Pommery bars around the harbour where you can taste some of Pommery’s award-winning champagnes.”

The festival is sponsored by Champagne Pommery, Seafish UK, Weird Fish, Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Dream Cottages.

See dorsetseafood.co.uk for more information.