The district’s biggest festival will be staged in St Ives when the Inland Waterways Association’s National Festival team sets up for its August Bank Holiday Event. Taking place over three days, Saturday 25th – Monday 27th August 2007, the organisers are expecting more than 5,000 visitors per day and the event will be a family affair with something for everyone to enjoy.
350 boats have registered for the event and are expected to be in the district for a couple of weeks before the festival. There are also 200 camping units registered, with more signing up all the time and 290 exhibitors, many of whom will arrive the week before the festival. The district council and the Hunts Post have teamed up and produced a joint festival guide which includes a number of vouchers aimed at encouraging visitors to explore the district whilst they are here. This guide has been widely distributed to local residents and those who have pre-registered for the festival. To receive further copies for your attraction please contact Helen Donnellan, Senior Economic Development Officer at Huntingdonshire District Council on 01480 388263.
The Festival entertainment will include wild west shows every day, classic car rallies, including classic minis on the Sunday, steam engines, two theatre programmes, bandstands, folk and line dancing, bell ringing, archery, falconry displays and model clubs with model boats, planes and car displays. There will be bands appearing on the various stages throughout the weekend and many of them are local favourites. There are also craft workshops running every day where you can have a go at learning some new skills such as fender bending, digital photography, knot tying, circus skills, archery and many more. There’s a large beer tent with beers from around the world and lots of different foods to try too. For the children there’s a traditional fairground on site and a full programme of activities provided by Wild Over Waterways, including pond dipping, fling a frog, brick laying, willow weaving and more.
Waitrose in St Ives will be supplying the food for Huntingdon Marriott chefs who will be performing “Get Set Go Cook” gourmet cookery contests. During the festival the nature reserve on Holt Island will feature a display of Anglian Water’s award-winning sculptures made from discarded shopping trolleys. A water taxi service is available from the site, for more information visit Huntingdonshire District Council’s stand at the festival.
The opening ceremony will be performed by Baroness Young of Old Scone, on Saturday 25 August 2007. Prior to taking up her post as Chief Executive of the Environment Agency in December 2000, Baroness Young was Chairman of English Nature and Vice Chairman of the BBC. To perform the grand opening, Baroness Young will travel to the festival site on the Broads Conservancy Launch, “Annie”, built in the 1950’s by Appleyard Lincoln of Ely. The boat had been abandoned in Westview Marina, but has been restored to her former glory by Les Fidler, the marina owner. “Annie”, formerly “Whisper”, is now electrically powered and for the grand opening she will be escorted up the River Great Ouse by a picturesque flotilla from the Steam Boat Association who will be mooring in Jones’ Boat Yard, St Ives, during the festival.
On the Sunday evening there will be an illuminated boat parade which will take place at dusk from the main festival site and will provide a magnificent spectacle as the boats will all be lit and decorated in a Roundhead and Cavalier theme. Exhibitors include arts and crafts, clothing, speciality foods, chandlery, boat engines, boat windows, leather goods, boat covers and furniture, jewellery, kitchen worktops, novelty items, healthy living products, solar and electrically powered small craft, and many more.
Exhibition boats include steel cruisers from Poland and narrow boats from China, as well as those from English boatbuilders.