Flying the Flag - at 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon on the South Embankment Dartmouth is taking part in a rather special Flag raising. A uniquely designed London Olympic flag will be raised by five promising junior members of Olympic Sports represented at Regatta (sailing, rowing, swimming, tennis and athletics) at the same time as the official handover of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to the 2012 Olympics in London.

Regatta Praise - come to the Royal Avenue Gardens to join in and be uplifted by the inspired and enthusiastic singing at Regatta Songs of Praise this Sunday 3.30pm.

Official Opening Ceremony – although many events have already begun, don’t miss the spectacle of the official opening of the 164th Royal Regatta which takes place in the Royal Avenue Gardens at 7.30pm on Wednesday evening, preceded by the procession from the Guildhall beginning at 7.15pm and led by the Exeter Pipes and Drums. A maroon is fired at 7.30pm after which the Mayor invests the Chairman of Regatta, David Kelland with a replica brooch of the Silver Oar symbolising of the right of the Mayor and Town Council to the water bailiwick of the River Dart which they hold from the Duke of Cornwall. The Regatta Chairman will wear this brooch throughout Regatta as a symbol of his authority.

Children’s Fancy Dress – a favourite with children and adults alike, we are always amazed at the imagination and ingenuity of the entries! The competition takes place in the Royal Avenue Gardens at 10.30am and is organised and sponsored by Tessa de Galleani (Dartmouth Living), Venus Cafes and Blackpool Sands.

Photos shown here are from last year.

Regatta Fete - The first event of regatta is the Grand Regatta Fete in the Royal Avenue Gardens this Saturday from 12 noon, to be opened by the Mayor of Dartmouth, Councillor Debbie Morris. Come along and enjoy the stalls and games by local organisations; there’s plenty to keep the children amused too with Punch and Judy, Professor Fumble and a Teddy Bears Picnic. It also helps to raise money for Regatta, so don’t forget to drop some coins into the collecting tins and buy your tickets for the Grand Regatta Draw. Also on Saturday evening, the Brixham Town Band will be performing a ‘last night of the proms’ style concert in the Bandstand – bring your union jack and join in!

The Miracle Theatre Company presents: the final summer performance of
Jason.

A story of love, death and sea-sickness in the lap of the Gods……

A night everyone has been looking forward to, the annual open-air play at Fingals with this wonderful award winning comic theatre company from Falmouth is on Sunday 31st August at 7pm.

The Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts who set sail to recover the sacred Golden Fleece is brought to life by five actors using a variety of props to transform the temple of Zeus into a ship as they fight giants and huge snakes while Jason woos the lovely Medea in his quest for the sacred relic…  It all sounds marvellous and in true Fingals/Miracle style we know we are in for a great evening. Come prepared with your warm woollies, rugs (and, heaven forbid, some wet weather gear and an umbrella) and a torch to get back to your car afterwards.

Tickets will cost £25 per person. This will include a glass of wine (or a soft drink), a hot mug of soup with a roll and butter and a pasty during the interval and a cheese board with hot chocolate or coffee at the end. There will also be a pay bar. Tickets (which will be the programme of the evening) are limited and must be booked and paid for in advance by calling  01803 722398 or e-mail by clicking here.

After a sell out last year, the Food Festival Opening event details are now available!  This Party was the talking point of last year's festival, so much food, so much fun, absolutely not to be missed, cancel everything and go!  The photos here show just a little from last year. This the proposed food for you to try:

• Paella from the Ferry Boat Inn
• Fish Soup from the Seahorse Restaurant
• Salmon locally caught
• Smoked Meat & Fish from The Dartmouth Smokehouse
• Bread and Salad  from the French Bread Shop
• Cheeses from Smith Street Deli
• Chocolate Brownies from Manna From Devon
• Croquenbouch from Saveurs
• Dartmouth Ice Cream from Dartmouth Ice Cream
• Italian from The Apprentice
• Champagne Bar
• Oyster Bar
• And much much more ...
• Drinks Bar

Tickets priced £25 (the food is all included, drinks are extra) are now available from One Design in Foss Street, Danielli in Lower Street, The Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth Tourist Information Centre and Kingswear Post Office. Cash or Cheques only please.   Click here to visit the website or click here to send an e-mail to the organisers.

Come down for the weekend?

The Annual Show takes place on Bank Holiday Monday August 25th on the Playing Field and in the Village Hall on the A379 at Stoke Fleming. Gates are open from 12.30 and there will be the usual programme with stalls, sideshows, exhibits in the Hall and Marquee and Sports (enter on the day)

Special attractions of Punch and Judy (another return visit by popular request) and Balloon Modelling, the Riverside Ramblers Jazz Band playing at 12.30 and 4pm and early in the afternoon at approx. 1.30pm, before the Grand Opening at 2.15pm, there will be a Display of Dog Obedience Training.

There is a Bar Tent, as well as Children’s Bar, Lunch BBQ, Ice-cream and Teas and the Friends of Stoke Fleming School are running a craft activity for children. This year’s Special Division theme is ‘Rural’ and there are exhibits from gardeners, cooks, flower arrangers, photographers and craftspeople, as well as the ‘Rural’ fun division.

Remember that it only costs £4 entry fee for a family of 4 and there is free parking as well. Come and support a local Show and get into holiday mood before Regatta.

Photos from last year's event.

• We are often asked if we are connected to, or even if we are the Tourist Information Centre.    Much as we love Sue and Jane (only with her purple hair) we aren't connected.  The TIC does a truly wonderful job from its office in Dartmouth, where you can get discount tickets to attractions and low cost rail tickets, and everything Dartmouth!
  
  We operate this news and our web site www.Dartmouth.tv  completely independently and when you get your invitations to advertise, our sincere recommendation is that you go with both of us.  Strength in numbers and all that.  A famous Dartmouth Hotelier once said " I want my Hotel to be listed in the top three results from Google "  and that is why I support Dartmouth dot TV.
  
  If you run a business in Dartmouth and you have not received a bill from us, then please get in contact very soon, we want all of Dartmouth to be visible to potential quality tourists on www.Dartmouth.tv
  
  Tests have shown that on all popular search engine searches, www.Dartmouth.tv is second on all major search engines.  OK, so we need to try harder, but people will look at more than one website, you need your business to be on both!

• Why not come and visit Dartmouth?
   
• Self catering accommodation click here
   
• Dartmouth B and B  click here
   
• Dartmouth Hotels click here
   
• A Tourist Guide to Dartmouth click here