| Where: | Aberaeron at the Hive and the Yacht Club, then the Beach |
| When: | Saturday of August Bank Holiday Weekend |
| Time: | Parade 3pm, Burning at dusk around 8 pm-8.30 |
The end of the summer fishing season is marked at Aberaeron on the Welsh coast with a mock funeral for the fish and a light-hearted celebration. A large mackerel puppet effigy is carried by bearers through the streets accompanied by a jazz band, with the cortege following a route from the quayside to the Yacht Club who host the event. The procession is accompanied by suitably masked and black-clad wailing mourning widows, who represent the fishermen’s wives often left behind during the fishing forays in the past. On arrival at the club, the mackerel and the harvest of the sea are blessed by the Vicar, thus ensuring a bumper catch in the year ahead, and this is followed by a party with barbecue and live music, with the ceremonial burning of the effigy on the beach at sunset.
Helpful Hints
In 2026 it should be on Saturday 29th August (to be confirmed).
There’s plenty food and drink available; as it’s a popular holiday destination, parking can be more tricky to find especially if it’s a sunny day so allow plenty of time. When we were there in 2025 there were dolphins in the bay during the burning ceremony.
Click here for the Yacht Club : https://www.aberaeronyachtclub.co.uk/aberaeron-mackerel-fiesta
and herre for their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aberaeronmackerelfiesta/?paipv=0&eav=Afbydvc7tF_1wAkDW__Q-OiMVnFrkUIDcNpwvt42_vAhe1yTBqf2aeCaMib4DsF3Rko&_rdr
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