Outdoor festival to celebrate 250 years of Louth Canal

The activities will take place – in a socially distanced manner – at the Navigation Warehouse in Riverhead, Louth.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Louth will formally open the event on Saturday morning (September 12) at 11.30am, followed by live music, poetry, presentations about Louth Canal, children’s art activities, and much more until 7pm.

Musicians include Patrick Purves, Mike Wood, Luke Carver Goss and Dave Angel, ‘Charm’ (Andy Whitehouse and Kate Trott), Marita Metelia, Rikki and Dalila Thomas- Martinez, plus Vera Van Heeringen, Dave Luke and Andy Seward.

Poetry and spoken word performances will be provided by Fee Griffin, and a heritage talk will come from historian Stuart Sizer.

The next day (Sunday), more performances and fun activities will be taking place including a display of model watercraft from the Cleethorpes Model Boat Club, a heritage walk with Stuart Sizer, and lots of live music from some of Saturday’s performers in addition to Nicholas Konradsen, plus Pat McCarthy and Craig Oxley.

Additional attractions will include art and craft workshops, watercraft and model boats in action, and homemade ice creams.

A Louth Navigation Trust spokesman said: “We are celebrating 250 years since Louth Navigation was built and Louth saw an industrial dockland develop.

“Wealth came to the town with merchants and grand houses, shipbuilding, and trade.

“The heritage is still here to celebrate: the many warehouses, five of the eight locks and most of all it is still in water.

“Now used for pleasure, the canal is every bit key to the people of Louth as we enter a new era.”

• For the full schedule of events, visit www.louthcanal.org.uk/PDF/heritage.pdf.