Memories of the heady days Tinseltown came to the Twin Towns will be celebrated at a special Moby Dick exhibition opening at Fishguard’s Theatr Gwaun.
The Making of Moby Dick: An Exhibition of Memories launches this year’s Ar Ymyl y Tir 2026/On Land’s Edge Festival, marking the 70th anniversary of the cinematic release of John Huston’s epic movie on Herman Melville’s great white whale. “And where better to begin than with the memories of the people who were here when Hollywood came to Fishguard and Goodwick?” said a spokesperson.
It was back in 1954 that Fishguard and Goodwick became one of the most important loca-tions for the filming of a movie said to have been the most expensive ever created at that point.
More than 70 years later, this special exhibition – opening at Martha’s Gallery, Theatr Gwaun on Tuesday, September 1 – brings together memories, stories and photographs gathered from the local community, preserving the recollections of those who remember that extraordinary year and the mark it left on the towns.
It is hoped that Huw Lewis and Gareth Rees, members of the Fishguard Sea Cadets rowing crew who famously beat a rival crew consisting of Hollywood actors and stuntmen in a race in Fishguard Bay will be among those attending the opening – in what would be their first meeting in over seventy years.
As part of the project, Ar Ymyl y Tir 2026/On Land’s Edge Festival have been out and about gathering those memories and photographs and working closely with Hanes Abergwaun and Ein Hanes to help preserve this remarkable piece of local heritage for generations to come.
Graphics for the exhibition have been designed by Julian Jefferson of Fishguard Arts Society, Cymdeithas Celfyddydau Abergwaun, and the project has been made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
“It feels like the perfect place to begin our journey towards this year’s festival,” added the spokesperson.
*See onlandsedge.co.uk for further info.
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