Although there are still some months to go in 2010, we are in the process of getting information on festivals in 2011.
If you have any information/dates etc, even if only provisional, please let us know and we shall add them.
ELLESMERE PORT - EASTER 2011
Trim Rig and a Doxy, along with Loctup Together, are organising a shanty event next year. Like all of us, they
sadly miss Lancaster and the great gathering there at the start of the season. They are also worried about the
way the financial climate is affecting the music and the opportunities to perform it and keep it alive.
With that in mind, they have founded an organisation called Shanty UK, whose purpose is to promote maritime
music of all genres. They plan to run a maritime event every Easter. For Easter 2011 they have kindly been
offered the use of The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire as a venue. The museum is right on
the Mersey and has the Manchester Ship Canal running by it. There are several indoor venues with good acoustics,
including a small theatre and they are quite excited to have such a relevant and atmospheric setting to sing
in. There are also outside venues (weather permitting) and there will be a canal boat festival there too, run
by the Boat Museum Society.
They are looking at two possible festival scenarios depending on whether or not they manage to get sponsorship.
The first scenario is a gathering; there would be no money involved and people and performers would need to
come under their own steam. There is a large hotel two minutes from the site and they would seek to negotiate
a preferential rate for a block booking. The car park also has hard standing for campers. They would organise
several stages over the weekend and also two ticketed evening concerts. The money raised would be put towards
the 2012 gathering.
The second scenario is that they achieve some level of funding, in which case they would be offering help with
travel, help with accommodation and performance fees in that order, depending on the amount they raise and
could hopefully put on a larger event.
There will be more details on this web site as they become available.
"Shanties on the Radio"
There are regular programmes on various radio stations available via "web links" to download programmes of sea music.
For further information, visit: RADIO SCUTTLEBUTT RADIO RIDDERKERK
Accommodation
If you are visiting a shanty or maritime festival and looking for somewhere to stay, why not give
a try.
a try.
