Glasgow: Scotland with style - Glasgow River Festival Sets Sail

The third Glasgow River Festival is set for Saturday July 15^th and Sunday July 16^th, with a raft of family fun, entertainment and activities celebrating the River Clyde.

The Festival is now established as one of the summer’s foremost family days out, and with more of the attractions either free of charge or discounted this year, 2006 is set to be the biggest yet.

Combining local projects and facilities, with attractions never before seen in Glasgow, it will be all hands on deck throughout the weekend. Venues stretch along both the north and south sides of the historic waterway, from Glasgow’s new Finnieston Bridge in the east to Glasgow Harbour in the west.

Councillor Alex Mosson, Chairman of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Glasgow City Council’s spokesperson for events, said:

"The Glasgow River Festival was launched three years ago as a nautically themed family day out, which celebrates The Clyde's past, present and future.

“In 2005, over 40,000 people enjoyed the festival, which puts the River Clyde at the very heart of the Glasgow Fair holiday weekend.

“In addition to the strong family entertainment focus, which will include high energy Zapcat racing, there will also be a business dimension to this year’s festival with corporate hospitality opportunities available aboard visiting tall ships.

“This latest element will further enhance the River Festival and illustrates how it is being developed year on year and is rapidly becoming one of the major dates in Glasgow’s annual events calendar.

“The festival is also a key component of the ongoing plan to develop the riverside as an attractive location to live, work, visit and play and reinforces the city’s credentials as Glasgow: Scotland with style.”

Scottish Enterprise's head of property Bill Nicol said: “The River Festival is a great time for people to come down to Clydeside and enjoy the event and at the same time see how the area is changing as a result of investment by both public and private sector bodies.”

Highlights will include:

Tall Ship – for this weekend only, entry to The Tall Ship will be free. The Tall Ship will host a range of exciting events for children and families with the chance of spotting Captain Jock Yarrow who will be on the look out for his lost ship.
As the focal point for the Glasgow River Festival, the Science Centre has an entertainment zone featuring live science shows, face painting and much, much more.
Take up position on Bells Bridge for the Zapcat Grand Prix which will see competitors racing along the river Clyde where the race is closer and faster than at other venues.
The Jeanie Johnston, Artemis and Matthew Tall Ships will all visit the Clyde especially for this year’s Festival and are perfect examples of ships that have been restored to their original glory. They all highlight the Clyde’s status as an international waterway.
Walk the Plank will bring the world’s best known nautical adventure to life with a musical rebuilding of the Ark. Performances last two hours with a 30 minute interval.
Local community projects include the Govanites, the Galgael Trust and Partick Beat.
The Royal Marine Commandos will have an abseil demonstration from Finnieston Crane and will also have an impressive display of weapons and equipment in the City Inn car park.
Especially for the children there are bubble, sailor fun and balloon modelling workshops to keep them amused.
The fisheries protection vessel, the puffer “Vital Spark of Glasgow” and the Tug “Brocklebank” will also visit the Clyde.
Sportsscotland National Centre Cumbrae will be offering kayaking, sailing and powerboating demonstrations whilst the British Jetski display team will perform three times a day.
There will be a regular shuttle ferry service from the Broomielaw, Braehead and Yoker for those who want get into the swing of things or for a more exhilarating ride there is also the opportunity ride on a powerboat.

The Glasgow River Festival is managed by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, and is funded by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the European Development Fund.

The fun runs from 11am to 6pm on both days at Civic Square next to the Science Centre, Glasgow Tower at Pacific Quay, Finnieston Crane, the BandStand in front of the Clyde Auditorium near Bells Bridge and The Tall Ship.

www.glasgowriverfestival.com

ENDS

For further information contact:

Linda Young Public Relations Ltd

Tel 0141 249 6735

Email: linda@lypr.co.uk or pam@lypr.co.uk

(or)

Caroline Gray, PR Executive

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau

Tel: 0141 566 0832

Email: caroline.gray@seeglasgow.com

PR54/GLASGOWRIVERFESTIVAL/JUNE06