Stockton International Riverside Festival

Stockton International Riverside Festival
Genre Arts festival
Begins 4 August
Ends 7 August
Location(s) Stockton-on-Tees
Years active 27
Inaugurated 1988
Most recent 2014
Website
http://www.sirf.co.uk/

The Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) is an annual outdoor arts festival in Stockton-on-Tees, England.[1] It includes UK and international performers. In 1991 local musicians collaborated to stage the Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival - which became Stockton Weekender from 2011 to 2014 when it ceased.

Festival history

The first Stockton Riverside Festival was founded by Frank Wilson and the first festival took place in August 1988. The centrepiece was Circus Burlesque’s big top show. 24 years later, the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) has grown into an internationally famous event that attracts thousands of spectators. The North-East section of travel website iknow-UK calls it 'One of the North East's top summer family festivals'.[2]

Stockton Weekender (Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival)

The Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival was created in 1991 as a companion event to SIRF. It was intended to showcase local talent after local performers started to feel left out of the main festival in favour of bigger acts.[3] The event was replaced in 2011 by the Stockton Weekender.

Stockton Weekender was independently produced and promoted by Tees Music Alliance - a not for profit music collective and social enterprise.

Although the event features international headline acts (The Pogues in 2012,[4] Maximo Park in 2011[5] and Calvin Harris in 2010[6]), the festival retains its local focus and features local performers.

Following Stockton Weekender 2014, Tees Music Alliance announced that the event would no longer take place after failing to sell enough tickets to cover the costs of the event.[7]

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://sirf.co.uk/
  2. ↑ http://www.iknow-northeast.co.uk/tourist_information/tees-valley/stockton-on-tees/stockton_yarm.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.stocktonweekender.co.uk/sites/all/themes/weekender/styles/newsclipping.jpg
  4. ↑ http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/stocktonfringe/2012/
  5. ↑ http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/stocktonfringe/2011/
  6. ↑ http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/stocktonfringe/2010/
  7. ↑ Hetherington, Graeme (29 August 2014). "Time called on Stockton Weekender music festival". The Norther Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
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