Back-to-back Halibut Festivals at Fresh St.

Want to showcase local food? Why not bring the fishing boat, and the catch, onto the store parking lot?

That’s what H. Y. Louie’s Fresh St. Market in West Vancouver did last spring, to make its first annual Halibut Festival a success.

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The store had 10,000 pounds of freshly caught Haida Gwaii halibut on hand, but needed to bring in more, selling 16,000 pounds.

For Mark McCurdy, marketing manager, the day was so successful he’s planning back-to-back Halibut Festivals for 2014. Fresh St. Market in West Vancouver and Fresh St. Farms in Surrey will each be hosting Halibut Festivals this upcoming Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Each festival will see a 32-foot fishing trawler in the store parking lot and 10,000 pounds of Ocean Wise certified halibut.

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Families can get up on the boat and explore its fittings, and for donations of $5, they can enjoy grilled halibut burgers and drinks. Proceeds go to the hospital in each city.

Adding more excitement are games for the kids, prizes, wine tasting and demonstrations of foods local to each store. Whistler Cooks, Péché Mignon Shortbread, Wiggins Meat Pies will be available in West Vancouver, with Fraser Meadows Yogurt and Sutra Curry in Surrey.

Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise conservation program joins in too, giving advance publicity and providing sustainability education at both festivals. That ties respect for the environment to the start of the Pacific Halibut season — always a festive time for foodlovers within range of the west coast.

Last year’s Festival drew media coverage, and both of this year’s are marketed through local newspaper ads, in-store publicity, social media, and a CTV guest appearance by Dave Sherwood, director at Fresh St., presenting a halibut recipe.

Sherwood says Fresh St. wants to “generate awareness and promote fresh, local, and sustainable shopping, while organizing events that will bring communities together.”