ORGANISERS OF THE WHALEY WATER WEEKEND (W3) are looking forward to a vintage year of family fun and entertainment. W3 take places on the weekend of the 12th June and runs right through from the Friday night to the Sunday. Visitors can expect all the usual ingredients that make the event one of the “best family festivals around”. This year includes free boat trips, fantastic live music, local arts and crafts, delicious food, fairground rides, traditional Punch and Judy, and many other activities for children and families of all ages.
Pink Floyd
Returning to the main stage on Saturday evening will be Merseyside rockers Roger’s Floyd, who provided one of the highlights of 2014, when hundreds of people flocked to the canal basin to witness their electrifying renditions of Pink Floyd classics like Comfortably Numb, Another Brick in The Wall and In The Flesh. W3 regulars will expect giant inflatable pigs and dive-bombers swooping in during their performance! Other acts performing at W3 include Mancunian folk rock legend Tony Auton, local favourites Turtle Zed and the Chinese Marbles.
Quality
“Quality” is the aim for 2015 as W3 leader Barry Rudd explains, “This will be my fifth Whaley Water Weekend and each year we’ve tried hard to make it bigger so we’ve increased the live music, extended into 3 days, chased record visitor numbers, started our own catering arm – you name it we’ve done it! There comes a point where you realise that the event is about as big as its going to get and this happened to me at around midday on the Saturday afternoon last year when W3 was mentioned live on BBC Radio 2! Our focus for 2015 is quality! We want W3 to be remembered by every single person that comes along as a brilliant day out. That’s our mission and that’s why the W3 volunteers, work so hard to make this event so special”.
Friday Night
Friday night at the Canal Basin features an evening of live entertainment created by young people for young people. Starting at 8pm, the famous Whaley Water Weekend stage will host solo performances and a live band from Chapel High School. Whaley burgers will also be on sale.
Regeneration
W3’s volunteers are working hard to improve the historic canal basin that W3 calls “home”. Trees have been planted, paths have been improved and benches have been installed. Barry explains, “It’s something we’re proud of. We want W3 to make a real difference and we think this means offering more than a festival on one weekend each year. Our efforts to create a better environment in the canal basin are paying off – it gives us a thrill to see families enjoying the picnic benches in the sunshine – if Manchester can leverage regeneration on the back of sport then we can do it in Whaley on the back of our waterways!”
Check the website for full details: http://www.whaleywaterweekend.org.uk