Tapton Lock Festival Spectacular!
Six must be our lucky number as this year’s Tapton Lock Festival was the best yet!
On the 15th and 16th September the banks of the Chesterfield Canal came alive again with inspirational arts and crafts, amazing theatrical extravaganzas, and great music. It was so good that some visitors joined us both days.
The weather was good to us and the event got off to a great start when the Mayor of Chesterfield waved off the first walk of the Chesterfield Canal Walking Festival.
Circus Hub Notts brought their Ariel Circus Cabaret and delivered circus skills workshops through out the weekend for all the budding circus performers, young and old. Sheffield based Pif Paf theatre wowed us with their Action Painting machine and, with the help of many children created a huge colourful painted canvas, described by one visitor as ”the perfect picture of the firework display at sunset that happens above the wildflower meadow at Chatwsorth House every year” – high praise indeed.
Hardwick Hall, Creswell Crags, the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, the Eco Centre and the RSPB attended, as did Moors for the Future with their amazing Bogtastic van.
Regular attendees Pleasly Vale’s Have a Go Canoes and the DCC climbing wall was there for the energetic visitors and the more sedate could take a trip on the narrowboat John Varley II.
We displayed the beautiful textile banners made by children from Christ Church School who took part in our Festival outreach programme and for anyone who missed them, one of the banners can be seen in the Tapton Lock Visitor Centre until the end of October.
The Festival was brought to a delightful conclusion with a performance by the Ashover Brass Band, who joined us for the third year and played a selection of rousing tunes from their repertoire.
Without the help of all our amazing volunteers and the partnership with the Derbyshire County Council Countryside Service, this event wouldn’t and couldn’t happen.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thanks all our local business sponsors, Stoneacre Chesterfield, Wilkins Vardy, Kelly Holdings and Casa Hotel. Also DCC Cllr and Chesterfield Mayor Stuart Brittain and DCC Cllr Sharon Blank.
Finally we couldn’t have achieved what we did without successful applications to Tesco and Groundwork UK for Tesco Bags of Help funding, Foundation Derbyshire and DCC Action Grants.
