Themed around art and maritime this weekend promises to be a feast of family-fun, so dress for the weather, pop along and prepare to be delighted and amazed.
- Friday July 16th
DOCKSIDE DELIGHTS
8.30pm – 9.45pm, Salthouse Quay
The Salthouse Dock area will come to life at 8.30pm when a host of Street Performers in variety of guises from the sublime to the absurd will entertain and amuse you before the main event of the night.
A WAVE AT PICASSO
9.45pm – 10.15pm, Salthouse Dock
As the skies darken and night falls, the evening spectacle will truly begin as Walk the Plank stage A Wave At Picasso, inspired by the Picasso: Peace and Freedom exhibition. A tribute to one of Europe’s most popular twentieth century artists, this stunning outdoor show will see crazy canoeists and dancing dinghies weave through a maze of fire while pyrotechnics, sound, projections, choreographed performance and other special effects ignite the dock in colourful splendour. Accompanied by specially composed music, this performance will stun the senses, spark imaginations and leave a long lasting impact on the eyes, ears and mind.
- Saturday 17th July
SHIPS AHOY
12pm – 5pm, Albert Dock
Colour and animation will be brought to the water as historic vessels Earl of Pembroke, Phoenix, Bessie Ellen, Ruth, Kathleen & May and Little Brig make the docks their home for the weekend. Although you will be unable to board the vessels, stay around and watch as exhilarating acts are performed on board the Earl of Pembroke and Phoenix.
THERE BE PIRATES
12pm, 2.15pm & 4.15pm, Hartley Quay
Good old hearty renditions of traditional shanties, Celtic music and tavern songs will be brought to you by the remarkable There Be Pirates band from San Francisco. Feisty and full of get-up-and-go, this true musical adventure is sure to have your feet tapping along.
TO KISS A SAILOR
1pm & 2.45pm, Hartley Quay
A UK premier, ‘To Kiss A Sailor’ is an evocative love story of a sailor and his lover performed through a range of stunning acrobatics in the rigging of Sqaure Sail’s beautiful historic ship ‘Phoenix’.
This romantic aerial courtship will unfold through tentative dance moved on deck, through chivalrous displays in the ratlines to a stunning array of counter-weight flying, corde-lisse climbing and tumbling over the dock.
Mirroring each other’s moves as they cartwheel and glide throughout the rig, the lovers continually try to meet but are repeatedly pulled apart through the challenges of distance, timing and bad weather.
Drawing on beautiful imagery and stories from the age of sail through to the present day, this romantic story celebrates the romance and challenges experienced by all those touched by life at sea.
SENSE OF SOUND
1.45pm & 3.30pm, Hartley Quay
One of the UK’s leading choirs, Liverpool’s very own Sense of Sound will grace this unique stage to bring a collection of exquisite songs resonant of the seas and docksides. Singing in rich pitch-perfect harmony, the 35 piece choir will have you mesmerised and listening in contemplative wonder.
PICASSO PEACE GARDEN
10am – 5pm, TATE Liverpool, Mermaid Court
Inspired by the summer blockbuster exhibition, Picasso: Peace and Freedom, TATE Liverpool invites you and your family to get crafty and create a ‘Dove of Peace’ just like Picasso. Decorate an activity tent with your messages of peace and display your unique dove creation in the magical Picasso Peace Garden, situated in Mermaid Court until Sunday 18 July. Craft activity Saturday only.
ALL THINGS NAUTICAL
10am – 5pm (Sat & Sun), Merseyside Maritime Museum, Hartley Quay
Discover traditional maritime crafts such as net-making, knot tying and coopering. Listen to music by the Empire Community Choir, explore the Piermaster’s House or step aboard for a tour of the Tugboat Brocklebank. Families with young children can also enjoy storytelling, pirate crafts and face painting. Come and see the new exhibition Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure which chronicles the amazing story of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s dramatic 1914 expedition. Open from 16 July 2010 to 3 January 2011. Free entry.
MARITIME MISCHIEF
12pm – 5pm, Albert Dock & Pier Head
As you stroll around you may to come face-to-face with fun and foolishness as Street Performers unload their cargoes of colourful skill to bring a special brand of maritime and art themed street theatre to the docksides.
SENSATIONAL SAND SCULPTURE
12pm – 5pm (Sat & Sun), Pier Head
In the run up to the weekend and after much frenetic trowelling, watch in amazement as 60 tons of sand is incredibly sculptured into something stunning by the sensational Sand in Your Eye. Can you guess what it is?
And if Sand in Your Eye leave you truly inspired, why not have a go yourself? Let your imagination run wild, have fun and with little help from the experts, you too can create your own masterpiece out of sand.
FEEL GOOD FAIR
12pm – 5pm (Sat & Sun), Pier Head
Created with the support of the people of Liverpool the Feel Good Fairs celebrate the 5-ways to wellbeing and promise to make you feel good with a little help from local artists and creative organisations.
The fairs, which launch at Live on the Waterfront, are a great opportunity to Connect with local artists and their handmade wares, Be Active and rediscover a forgotten talent, Take Notice and spark your curiosity, Keep Learning and try something new, so come and be inspired and Give yourself new ways to wellbeing.
The Feel Good Fairs are packed with over 30 local cultural and wellbeing organisations ready to inspire and delight, plus a chance to buy the best and most unique gifts from over 30 local artists and designers including painting, textiles, photographs, ceramics, jewellery, handmade beauty products and much more.
Organisations and artists include:
- Be ‘Touched’ by the Biennial with their interactive Origami workshops
- Create exciting new stories and drawings with New Fairy Tales
- Learn to Love Strawberries even more with the Strawberry Dispensary from Squash Nutrition
- Can Cook Domes – join the chefs in the ‘Cook Along’; watch, cook and learn from one of their free 30-minute practical cookery sessions – where you leave with a meal you have prepared. To book onto the ‘Cook Along’ please call 0151 650 6444
- Try a taster massage to sooth those aching joints and relieve stress
- Have a go at Singing your Socks Off or reveal your inner thespian with Merseyside Amateur Theatre
- Cycle down to the Fair for the free clinics with Dr Bike
- Find out what’s happening in your local Park
- Make an elastic band powered miniature boat and then enter it in the paddling pool race
- Learn how to make a kite out a single sheet of paper
- Discover what’s happening at the Bluecoat and National Museums Liverpool
- Plus much, much more….
To see the full daily programme of the Feel Good Fairs please visit www.culture.org.uk
RIGHT ROYAL NAVY ADVENTURE
12.30pm – 4pm, Princes Parade
Due to unforseen operational reasons the Royal Navy are unable to bring thier impressive warship to Liverpool.
DOCKSIDE DELIGHTS +
8.30pm – 9.45pm, Salthouse Quay
Revel in the antics of silly street performers before the final performance of the evening.
A WAVE AT PICASSO +
9.45pm – 10.15pm, Salthouse Dock
A FREE spectacular son et lumière by Walk the Plank.
- Sunday 18th July
MERSEY PIRATE MUSTER
11am – 5pm, Albert Dock, Canning Dock & Canning Half Tide Dock
Step into a storybook world of swashbuckling skulduggery, as the 2nd International Mersey Pirate Muster blasts back into the Albert Dock on Riverpool Day. Sea dogs, barnacle-backs and Old Salts cross cutlasses as their magnificent tall ships battle for Liverpool’s lost treasure in the Siege of Canning Dock, with enough cannons and muskets to wake Davy Jones himself.
Beat the pirates to the hidden prize by finding the legendary Pieces of Eight. Follow the clues in the Mysterious MacNamara’s Map*, but keep one step ahead of the Press Gang – Captain Hyde and Captain Seeke are looking for new recruits, willing or not…
Meet the pirates, learn the ropes and listen to yarns as old as the river. Sign the Muster book, join the Mersey Pirate Navy (minimum term one hundred years!) and watch out for old Monty the Mersey Monster, who is never far from the treasure.
This FREE family fun day, opens at 11 am. With songs, shanties and music for all ages, sword fighting and musket displays, games, ghosts, and gunpowder, this is the Albert Dock that you’ve never seen before.
Pirate Battle commences at 3pm with very loud cannon and musket fire. Rest assured landlubbers, the only thing these pirates will capture is your imagination.
Produced by BeSpoken Storytelling and Liverpool Front House, in association with Lancashire Militia, Earl of Loudon’s Regiment, and Mersey Heritage Trust.
*For further information about the Mysterious MacNamara’s Map and to be in with a chance to win a terrific piece of treasure go to the Special Offers and Competition Page.
MARITIME MISCHIEF +
12pm – 3pm, Salthouse Quay
Witness a slice of nutty nautical-ness as a ridiculous regatta is staged by the street performers from Fool’s Paradise.
THERE BE PIRATES +
12pm & 4.30pm, Hartley Quay
Another chance to hear good old hearty shiver-me-timber melodies by the remarkable There Be Pirates band from San Francisco.
TO KISS A SAILOR +
1pm & 4.15pm, Hartley Quay
A UK premier, ‘To Kiss A Sailor’ is an evocative love story of a sailor and his lover performed through a range of stunning acrobatics in the rigging of Sqaure Sail’s beautiful historic ship ‘Phoenix’.
This romantic aerial courtship will unfold through tentative dance moved on deck, through chivalrous displays in the ratlines to a stunning array of counter-weight flying, corde-lisse climbing and tumbling over the dock.
Mirroring each other’s moves as they cartwheel and glide throughout the rig, the lovers continually try to meet but are repeatedly pulled apart through the challenges of distance, timing and bad weather.
Drawing on beautiful imagery and stories from the age of sail through to the present day, this romantic story celebrates the romance and challenges experienced by all those touched by life at sea.
LITTLE BRIGS DOCK TOURS
12pm – 5pm, Salthouse Dock
Step aboard the Little Brigs miniature historic vessels for a free seafaring tour around the Salthouse Dock. Spaces are limited and available on a first come first served basis so be prepared to wait. Life jackets will be provided.
AFTERNOON ANTICS
12pm – 5pm, Pier Head
Take a leisurely stroll and head on over to the Pier Head for a second helping of the Sensational Sand Sculpture and Feel Good Fair.
RIGHT ROYAL NAVY ADVENTURE +
12.30pm – 4pm, Princes Parade
Due to unforseen operational reasons the Royal Navy are unable to bring thier impressive warship to Liverpool.
BROUHAHA BEATS
12pm – 5pm, Pier Head
Providing a colourful and upbeat tempo on Sunday afternoon, Brouhaha and many young artists from around the world will bring a special blend of music and dance styles to the wonderful waterfront.
After an action-packed day don’t miss the second showing of the spectacular evening performance. Why not take the opportunity to visit the many family-friendly bars and restaurants at the Albert Dock and sample the best in local hospitality? Bring your 08 Card and you could save a pretty penny too!
