The Leeds Waterfront Festival is excited to announce the date for next year’s event.
Taking place along the Leeds waterfront on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June 2013, save the date!
To get involved in next year’s event – contact us through the website; www.leedswaterfrontfestival.com
A: It is a free open-access event in which teams compete in a series of sprints. Each team has 17 members, who can be anyone from the company taking part. The company pays £500 to participate which goes directly to Leeds Community Foundation, with the costs of the race this year being covered by HESCO.
A: The Dragon Boat Spectacle is our primary fundraising event for the year, which we are hoping will bring in £30,000. This target is imperative in order to achieve our goals of supporting community groups that improve quality of life in Leeds. We act as a resource; providing information, delivering training courses and operating as a bridge between donor and organisation. This work improves engagement by encouraging initiatives to flourish.
A: There are 32 entrants this year, all from different areas of the city and with diverse backgrounds. We have corporate teams, family businesses and community groups involved, including a few familiar faces. Joining us this year for the first time is a team of veterans, proving that anyone is welcome to take part, regardless of age.
A: They tend to be water-inspired for obvious reasons, so we have seen plenty of pirates and sharks racing the cast of Hawaii 5-0. There was a team of Smurfs one year who had really paid attention to detail, and even a boat full of Pot Noodles have taken on the challenge!
A: This year we are combining the event with the Armed Forces parade, which will take place outside the Royal Armouries. We are really pleased to see the two events together, creating a celebratory atmosphere of commemoration along the waterfront.
A: The holiday feeling that explodes onto the waterfront is fantastic. It is lovely to see hundreds of people filling the spacious docks and wharfs that are all too often left quiet. The cooperation between venues and organisations is inspiring and hopefully something that can be built on to bring more people to the rivers and canals all year round.
Liam Robinson is a musician, singer, educator and organiser. He is based in Lincolnshire but works throughout the UK and has appeared in North America and a host of European countries. He plays squeezebox – various melodeons plus concertina – as well as singing, calling dances and leading workshops, and he has recently released a CD of dance music and song from Lincolnshire and the East Coast. Liam’s knowledge and enthusiasm, as well as his desire to get people involved, have helped him build a great reputation in all he does.
Liam organises regular music and dance events near to home in Lincoln, as well as being organiser of the annual Lincoln Morris Festival. Currently he is working on a research project about regular community dance events, called “Dancing the Small Halls”. However, he still manages to find time, through the Mini Morris Company, to bring traditional music, dance and song to schools, community groups and other events.
Liam will be appearing at the Waterfront Festival on Saturday 30 June from 1pm, at the Thwaite Mills Watermill Museum site. Against an authentic backdrop of heritage artefacts and historic boats, he will be singing traditional songs of bargemen, fishermen and sailors – bringing the history and songs to life through his performances! Liam will be accompanied on this occasion by multi-instrumentalist Tim Walker, who adds the sound of spoons, bones and washboard.
“You can’t fail to be charmed by Liam’s fresh and genially invigorating renditions” – Living Tradition Magazine
“Breathing new life into the songs” Jeff Warner
“Enjoyable songs, great attitude” – Tom and Barbara Brown
“Lovely stuff” – Brian Peters
Liam and Tim at Ellesmere Port Easter Boat Gathering and Sea Shanty Festival, 2011
To find out more about Liam visit http://www.minimorris.co.uk or www.myspace.com/liamrobinsonlincs
Plans are steaming ahead for the IWA Thwaite Mills Boat Gathering – a ew Event for the Waterfront Festival this year! Many details are now confirmed for boaters, as follows:-
Thwaites Mill is a heritage site, a local authority Museum with fully-restored working watermill, nestled on an ‘island’ location between the River Aire and the Aire & Calder Navigation 2 miles to the east of Leeds. Some Festival events will be held at the site. Otherwise, during the Festival there is usually a vintage bus running between the Mills and Leeds City centre (when not operating, there are regular public transport buses along the main road). Alternatively, it’s a pleasant walk along the towpath of the regenerated Leeds Waterfront to other Festival venues and the Centre.
Canal Societies, Restoration Groups, etc., are also being offered the chance of a publicity Stand at the Gathering/ Festival – contact IWA as below.
Bookings are now coming in, so why not get in touch with Elaine Scott, IWA West Riding Branch for more details and to register your interest? Elaine.Scott@waterways.org.uk
*Waterfront Festival Events are on the Saturday and Sunday
Image via Wikipedia
Plans for the 5th Annual Leeds Waterfront Festival and Dragon Boat Spectacle, to be held on the weekend of 30 June – 1 July 2012, are gathering pace!
Now might be the time – whether as a boater planning next year’s destinations, a visitor wishing to incorporate the event into a land-based trip to the area, or someone who would like to get involved in any other way – to add this vibrant Festival to next year’s Calendar!
Building on last year’s success, the Festival showcases both a magnificent waterscape - where the majestic Aire & Calder Navigation meets the meandering Leeds & Liverpool Canal - and the city’s renowned vibrancy and ‘buzz’. All along the Waterfront, cool venues – including Granary Wharf, Brewery Wharf and the iconic Clarence Dock – will feature live music, local bands, arts and dance, as well as on-the-water fun, canal boats, boat trips and much more. Whilst the Dragon Boat Races see some of Leeds’ biggest employers take to the water in huge, colourful 40ft long dragon boats, to raise money for Leeds’ based community initiatives.
This year’s Festival promises to be even bigger and better, with the addition of an IWA Boat Gathering at Thwaite Mills Watermill Museum. The Museum, just over a mile along the towpath from Clarence Dock, and approximately 2 miles from Leeds City Centre, will also host some of the other Festival events. For more details of the Boat Gathering and boat-booking forms, contact Elaine Scott on Elaine.scott@waterways.org.uk
The Leeds Waterfront Festival is a not-for-profit partnership event, intended to raise the profile of the waterfront and its attractions with a fantastic free event for all – and there is still time for other partners, venues and individuals to ‘come on board’! Sponsors are also welcome.
Event management volunteers are also sought to help with planning events, and this could be a great CV opportunity for students or recent graduates to work on a growing event with some big partners in Leeds.
For further information on Leeds Waterfront Festival 2012 opportunities contact Rachel Clunas on 07917 780151 or Rachel.clunas@aireactionleeds.org.uk
Image via Wikipedia
The waterfront in Leeds was treated to thousands of visitors on the 25 & 26 June as part of the fourth Leeds Waterfront Festival, combined for the very first time with Leeds Community Foundation’s Dragon Boat event.
The festival, which took place at Clarence Dock, Brewery Wharf, Thwaite Mills and Granary Wharf was a huge success.
Visitors were treated to a range of water activities including the tremendously popular WOW balls, canoe taster sessions, rides on a swan pedalo as well as the feature Dragon Boat competition, which saw around 25 local businesses dressed in fancy dress race in support of Leeds based initiatives.
The festival also offered a variety of live music including a steel band, buskers and the best of Leeds’ local talent as Radio Aire hosted the biggest ever ‘open mic’ event.
Waterside eateries including Granary Wharf’s Teppanyaki restaurant, Fazenda and Clarence Dock’s Pizza Express also put on live cooking demonstrations.
The weekend offered a huge range of activities for all ages. One visitor of the festival said: “I would like to congratulate Leeds Waterfront Festival on the organisation of the festival and all the activities included. My family and I live very close to the river and we have really enjoyed the event.”
Many people were seen snapping a shot at this year’s festival for ‘Capturing Leeds Waterfront Festival’ – a new competition for inspiring photographers and film makers. Those who caught the best pictures or video were in with the chance to win an overnight weekend stay at the Mint Hotel with dinner and breakfast included. Other prizes included £30 in gift vouchers and a meal for 4 at Fazenda. All entries were submitted on 4 July at 5.00pm- winners to be announced soon.
Rachel Clunas, Aire Action Leeds project officer and festival organiser, said: “The range of attractions at the four festival sites this year was excellent. The waterways provide a fantastic environment for all the family and an event like this really shows how important Leeds’ waterfront is to the people of Leeds.
“Each year the festival is getting bigger and better and we are very thankful to all our volunteers who helped out but we want to keep improving the festival. We’re always on the lookout for aspiring event organisers and local residents to get more involved, so anyone interested in helping with the 2012 event should get in touch with me for more information by emailing rachel.clunas@aireactionleeds.org.uk.”
4 days to go until festival…..
Really is not long now!!
Hope you’ve all taken a look at our amazing photography competition and got your cameras ready for this Saturday and Sunday. Full brief and entry form can be found on our website http://www.leedswaterfrontfestival.com/ some really great prizes.
Now more details about this year’s festival - at Clarence Dock there will be 40ft dragon boat racing complete with 16 paddlers all dressed in Technicolor fancy dress which will be taking place between 10.00am and 4.00pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The races are raising money for Leeds’ based initiatives. If you would like to get involved you can contact Amanda Bennett at Leeds Community Foundation on 0113 242 2426 / or email amanda@leedscommunityfoundation.org.uk.
Saturday 25th at Brewery Wharf between 12.00am and 5.00pm check out the Artmix Contemporary Art Market which is featuring an eclectic mix of contemporary art, design and craft.
Also on Saturday 25th come along to Thwaite Mills for a craft fair and keep the kids busy at the children’s workshops.
At Granary Wharf check out the Hop for some live acts outside and grab a bite to eat from their gourmet BBQ available all weekend.
8 days to go until festival…..
Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011 launches ‘Capturing Leeds Waterfront Festival’ an amazing competition for inspiring photographers.
LEEDS CAMERA ACTION!
Leeds Waterfront Festival is calling all inspiring photographers to capture a festival photograph or video on 25 or 26 June for the chance to win some amazing prizes.
The three prizes will go to the best in each category – Best Photo, Best Young Photographer and Best Video Promo.
**The winner of best photo will receive an overnight weekend stay at Granary Wharf’s Mint Hotel in one of the fabulous canal side suites for two people. Included in the prize is a pre-dinner cocktail in Sky Lounge bar followed by dinner for two in the award winning City Cafe restaurant and a yummy Yorkshire breakfast in bed the following morning.
**Those who enter for best young photographer have the chance to scoop £30 in gift vouchers at a Leeds photography retailer.
**For the winner of the best one minute video promo will be a meal for four at Fazenda, a Brazilian inspired restaurant serving expertly grilled cuts of meat by gaucho chefs.
**As well as these generous prizes, the winning ‘Best Photo’ will also appear in the Marketing Leeds’ 2012 edition of the ‘Style Guide to Leeds’, a visually compelling magazine produced to raise the profile of the city. Over one million people will see the magazine which is distributed nationally and internationally as well as being placed in the city’s hotel bedrooms.
The competition will be judged by Marketing Leeds on the 5 July and all entries should be submitted with an entry form by 5.00pm on the 4 July. One photo or video can be entered per person and the category must be stated within the entry form.
Entry forms and full competition rules will be available from 17 June at www.leedswaterfrontfestival.com.
9 days to go until festival…….
At this year’s festival find outdoor games at Out of the Woods,a caricaturist and a pop up shop from ‘Bird’s Yard’ all at Granary Wharf.
At Brewery Wharf listen to music all day from some of Leeds’ best DJ’s and watch some live dance shows.
Come down to Clarence Dock for children’s entertainment and family activities including salsa dancing!!
Make your own smoothies with a cycle powered smoothies maker or play Bin Sling Saloon, an interactive recycling game all at Thwaite Mills .
10 days to go until festival…….
Dont miss at this year’s festival an origami workshop taking place at Granary Wharf 11.00am till 12.00pm or 3.00pm till 4.00pm on Saturday and Sunday OR come along on Sunday for origami boat making!
Join in some free salsa dance lessons and win some prizes at the ultimate raffle at the Brewery Wharf site on Saturday 25th.
Teach the kids how to cook with pizza making activities at Clarence Dock on Sunday 26th or pick up some tips for yourself on Saturday 25th as on site restaurants take part in live cooking demonstrations.
Get your face painted and have a go on the bouncy castle at Thwaite Mills the perfect site for a picnic!
