Football fans get behind a Shore thing

If you can’t make it to Optus Stadium to see WA’s historic AFL grand final live, then the next best place might well be Geraldton’s foreshore. People can enjoy the big dance in the sun as the Shore Leave Festival is set to stream the 2021 premiership decider at the inaugural event. The four-day long Shore Leave Festival at the end of this month will celebrate the Mid West’s food, sights and experiences. The grand final will be streamed on Saturday, September 25, at the Helm along Geraldton’s foreshore. There will be a live lobster cooking event running simultaneously for people who have bought their crustaceans from one of the ‘back of the boat’ shops in the marina. The event is free for all who wish to enjoy the game down by the water and will start at 5pm. The Shore Leave Festival was originally scheduled for May, but was rescheduled to this month after tropical cyclone Seroja and a COVID-19 lockdown in Perth. It will include the Abrolhos long table lunch on September 24, beach price fish markets on September 25 and the foreshore feast on September 26. Fishing boat owner Anthony Pirrottina, who is a former president of the Geraldton and Districts Offshore Fishing Club, hoped the event would be a success. Shore Leave runs from September 24 to 27.