Church and chocolate eggs may be part of Easter everywhere. But in Ulladulla on the South Coast it also means festival time as Ulladulla comes alive for the annual Blessing of the Fleet Festival.

There will be a myriad of colourful and exciting events held throughout the Festival over the Easter weekend, the celebrations will be as impressive as ever, with the Festival Parade.

In 2012 the Festival have a near record number of 47 princesses who will all be showcased on the most wonderful imaginative floats, making it one of the biggest street parades in New South Wales.

General Conditions:

• The maximum length to be 19m, Max height 4m, Max width 3.5m.
• All floats to be roadworthy, registered by RTA NSW and have current Third Party Insurance (Green Slip).
• Insurance & Registration documentation shall be submitted for approval 3 weeks prior to the event. Photocopies will be accepted.
• The vehicle for a float may be a trailer, truck or ute, but not a car.
• No persons are to be seated on the edge of the vehicle/tray.

The first Blessing of the Fleet was staged in 1956 when the Catholic Parish Priest Father Weatherall suggested to the boat owners and crews that they should follow the old and revered tradition of blessing the boats.

The fishing industry of Ulladulla is as old as time itself, with Aboriginals using the harbour and ocean waters as a source of food. In the early 1900s there were newspaper reports of local fisherman selling their catch at Milton and fishing licences being approved.

Ulladulla harbour has always played an important role in the development of Ulladulla. The Illawarra and South Coast Steam navigational company brought weekly cargo supplies to Ulladulla until the mid 1950s.