Bristol Harbour Festival

infobox festival
festival_name=Bristol Harbour Festival
logo=


caption=A shot of a concert and a lifeboat passing by, at the Bristol Harbour Festival in 2008.
location=Bristol Harbour, Queen Square, Millennium Square and Harbourside
years_active= 1971 - 2008
dates= 1st - 3rd August 2008
genre= Music Festival, Community Festival, Tall Ship Festival
website= [http://www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk Bristol Harbour Festival Website] The Harbourside, in Bristol, South West England, has hosted the Bristol Harbour Festival (now officially named the "EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival" — EDF standing for Électricité de France) for 35 years, with about 200,000 visitors [cite web|url=http://liveiplus.bristol-city.gov.uk/IPlusNews/news_release.html?Id=19061042|title=Top tips to enjoy the EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival|publisher=Bristol City Council|language=English|accessdate=2008-08-01] attending live music, street performances and all sorts of live entertainments by choirs, DJs or jazz bands, among others. The festival includes music stages, a dance stage, street theatre performances, and water displays. A highlight of the festival is the Saturday Night Fireworks presentation. Most of the activities are held near the waterfront, so a significant part of the festival is connected with the seagoing vessels moored nearby.

The liveliest part of the festival is quayside, but the main attractions are, of course, seaside — with all the water displays, with tall ships from many countries and hundreds of sailing boats and old-time boats of all kinds.

This event is now set to be the South-West's biggest free festival»(according to a preview by Nowt2Do) [http://www.nowt2do.co.uk/review.php?id=403 Nowt2Do.com's review of the 2006 "EDF Energy Harbour Festival"] ] and has largely inspired similar events across the Channel, such as "Les jeudis du Port" in Brest, Brittany, on the live music side, and a bunch of similar festivals across Western Europe, as it shows with the "Fête Internationale de la mer et des marins" (better known as "Brest 2000/2004" etc.), held mid-July, every four years, since 1992 (see the external link below).

Bristol Harbour Festival celebrates the city's maritime heritage and the importance of Bristol's docks and harbour. The 2007 edition was held between 27-29 July, and the 2008 edition will be held 01-03 August (Friday through Sunday).

2008 festival

Highlights this year include:

Beth Rowley, [http://www.hot8brassband.com/ The Hot 8 Brass Band] , Sheelanagig, The Blessing and Phantom Limb on the Queen Square Stage, programmed by Colston Hall and supported by Willmott Dixon.

Let's Tea Party, Kid Carpet, [http://www.nualaandthealchemyquartet.com Nuala and the Alchemy Quartet] , [http://www.theshecreatures.com The She Creatures] , Natty, Barry Adamson and Alex Wilson's Uplifting Roots on the Amphitheatre Stage.

Babel, Bobby Andersen and Slow make up some of the highlighted acts on the Cascade Steps stage.

Loads of locally sourced upcoming youth acts will be playing on the Remix Stage, in the Mud Dock area of the harbour.

This year the festival has a new 'Dance Village' which will feature international and locally celebrated dance performers including two principle dancers from the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York.

The Millennium Square Circus Stage programmed by Cirque Bijou features Duo Ssens, a world class static trapeze act, local comperes Stickleback Plasticus and the Black Eagles, acrobats all the way from Tanzania.

After parties will take place at local venues including the Thekla and the Louisiana.

See also

*Bristol Harbour
*International Festival of the Sea, held at Bristol in 1996

References

External links

* [http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?PageNbr=1&MemberId=3698564992&PhotoAlbumId=8518112942&PhotoId=8518133383 More Photos Of The 2008 Bristol Harbour Festival]
* [http://www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk Harbour Festival official website]
* [http://visitbristol.co.uk/site/whats_on/p_35531 Visit Bristol, Bristol's official tourist information website's Bristol Harbour Festival page]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/goingout/2004/summer/harbourfest.shtml "BBC's Bristol — Going Out" page about 2004 Harbourside Festival]
* [http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk/ccm/content/press-releases/2006/jul/edf-energy-harbour-festival-success.en one of the Bristol Harbour Festival's official pages (others are available on the same sponsors' site)]
* [http://www.brest2008.fr/en/index.php?lang=en&site=2 Fête Internationale de la mer et des marins (English version)]