The Northwich River Festival will take place at the fantastic Barons Quay on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th July. Building on the incredible success of last year’s event we are delighted to announce to you all about the exciting new things that will be happening across the weekend.

Not only do we see the return of the Dragon Boat Race on Saturday, there’s also Homebuilt Raft Racing on the Sunday; a chance for everyone to get involved. Want to enter? You’ll need a team of six to build a raft and then compete in race heats between Town Bridge and Barons Quay. Not only that but we’d love to see each team in fancy dress to make things even more exciting. There will also be two open air concerts in the evening; the perfect wind down after a long day of raft racing.

If you’re a music lover, then you’ll love what’s happening on the Saturday. There will be a ‘Party in the Park’ featuring ABBA NOW supported by Heart and Soul. It’s an opportunity to put on your dancing shoes and 80s flared jeans, and party the night away.

Things start to wind down on Sunday evening with ‘Proms in the Park’ featuring the Vale Royal Youth Orchestra, which has all the best young musicians in the area. Also, Welsh Soprano singer Rhian-Carys Jones will be performing a mix of classical and operatic music. Be sure to bring your flags for Rule Britannia!

Both these concerts are ticketed, and in true British fashion they will go ahead whatever the weather. Be sure to pack appropriately! Children are, of course, most welcome. You should also feel free to bring fold up chairs and picnics – why not make a day of it? But there will also be food and drink available if you would rather just rock up and find a patch of grass. The concerts will be held at River Park, and doors will open at 6.30pm, with the concern finishing at 10pm.

Full details of directions, tickets prices, entry information for the raft races and everything else that is happening over the two days can be found on the website –  www.northwichriverfestival.org.uk

Chairman of the Northwich River Festival, John Walton said: “The NRF 2018 is a Northwich Rotary Club led event in conjunction with our partners. It is a community event for the people of Northwich and the surrounding areas. There is no charge to come down and watch the daytime events. Building on the success of last year the Raft Races and Concerts are new innovations for 2018 and a lot of work is going on to make the whole weekend a great success. Any monies raised over the weekend will split between the Alzheimer’s Society ,the RNLI and Northwich Rotary Charities.”