There are no fireworks at this year’s Bristol Harbour Festival. And the programme costs £1 rather than being free. Despite those minor grumbles, the three-day event is still one of the highlights of Bristol’s summer. Here are our top-five picks of some of the things not to be missed:
1) The Rogue’s Salute by the Invisible Circus is being performed in a big tent in what was once Bristol Prison and now a big car park behind M Shed. Dress code: Neptune’s wayward children. This should be a brilliant show. More details here.
2) BBC Big Screen. Finding Nemo is being shown on the screen in Millennium Square today. On Saturday night, watch the films that were entered into last month’s Encounters 0117 Film Challenge. More details here.
3) Colston Hall Stage, Queen Square, Friday night concert. Fetauring Lady Nade, Laid Black, Talisman, Alaap and DJ Derek.
4) Dance in the Arnolfini. Ticketed shows in the evening throughout the weekend. More details here.
5) Cascade Steps stage, programmed by Jelli Records. Always one of the best areas for live music. More details here.
This used to be a family fun day out – the harbourside regatta. Check out the images here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilhobbs/320685980/in/photostream/
It was great up until around 2000 when it stopped being about boats, families and fun and has instead become club-18-30 getting smashed in Queens Square. It’s not a pleasant place to take the family and instead those who are not drunk are spending their cash on over priced food served on a slab of wood.
Has every ‘festival’ suffered a similar ‘excuse to get drunk outside’ fate?
Sad times.