Express & Star

Narrowboat lovers gear up for third Wolverhampton festival

Narrowboat enthusiasts from across Wolverhampton are gearing up for their third annual canal festival next month, which will see an assortment of boat-owners joining together for a weekend of live music and entertainment.

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Crowds at the annual festival

Wednesfield Canal Festival will take place on the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Bentley Bridge Leisure Park, next to the Nickelodeon pub, on Saturday and Sunday August 10 and 11.

The event will feature a funfair, live entertainment and a number of stalls selling handmade crafts and food.

Councillor Phil Bateman said: “We have held the Wednesfield Canal Festival now for a number of years and it gets bigger and better each time.

“Last year’s festival was fantastic and we had a record overall attendance of 4,446 visitors, which was a 3.4 per cent increase on 2017’s event. We had great weather on the Saturday, but sadly the weather let us down on the Sunday. Despite this, the crowds still came out and we hope this year will be no different.

“I have no doubt that if the weather had been better then we would have seen even greater numbers of people attending.”

The event is organised by volunteers from the ‘Hands on Wednesfield’ group and attracts canal boat owners from all over the Midlands.

“I would urge everyone in the village and from further afield to come along and support this event,” added councillor Bateman.

“It’s two great family days of music and entertainment and there will be more updates to the timetable of events very shortly.”