FOXTON Locks is set to host a weekend-long canal festival celebrating the pivotal role that Leicestershire’s waterways played in the renaissance of the nation’s canal network 75 years ago.
The festival, taking place on June 7 and 8, is being organised by the Leicestershire branch of the IWA with local partners including the Canal & River Trust and Harborough District Council. The event marks the 75th anniversary of the 1950 Festival of Boats & Arts, which was held in Market Harborough and became a tipping point in the campaign to prevent the loss of the nation’s formerly industrial waterways.
The free event will see a huge number of boats, including historic working boats and floating traders, moored at the top and bottom of the flight of locks at Foxton, the longest steepest staircase flight of locks in the country.
Andrew Shephard, chairman of the Leicestershire branch of the IWA, said: “The 1950 Festival of Boats & Arts was a pivotal event and helped to trigger the transformation of the nation’s formerly industrial waterways into the valuable leisure resource that is enjoyed by so many today.”
Visitors will be able to buy a variety of crafts and other items from trading stalls, and there will also be a range of activities, exhibitions, demonstrations, live music, food stalls and refreshments. On the Saturday a cavalcade of colourful boats will make their way down the flight of 10 locks and cruise to Union Wharf in Market Harborough.
To find out more about the festival go to www.iwaharborough75.org
