Festival promises to deliver blast from the past
GET ready for a blast from the past to remember as Llanelli Vintage Festival returns to the town centre this Saturday!
Organised by Ymlaen Llanelli Business Improvement District (Bid) and supported by Llanelli Town Council, the event will see a whole host of vintage vehicles, music and activities descend onto Stepney Street, Vaughan Street and Cowell Street from 9am to 6pm.
There will also be free parking in all council-owned town centre car parks for the day.
Chair of Ymlaen Llanelli Bid Lesley Richards is excited for the event. She said: “Llanelli Vintage Festival is always a great day out in the town centre, and we’re expecting it to be busier than ever this year. We’ve got music, cars, bikes, buses and workshops lined up – so there really is something for everyone.”
Following the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the status of the event did face some uncertainty.
However, Lesley explained that it felt right to press ahead.
“After a great deal of thought, we decided to go ahead with the festival. We are all saddened by recent events, but Ymlaen Llanelli exists to support our town centre, and our businesses have been through a lot already in the last couple of years. If you are planning on coming to the event, we will all be delighted to see you!”
To introduce proceedings on the Vaughan Street stage, a tribute will be paid to Her Majesty at 11.30am in the form of a minute’s silence, followed by songs from local choir Meibion Elli.
Festival festivities will begin at noon with A Time to Dance, who will help everyone dust off their dancing shoes with an interactive line-dancing workshop.
Then it’s onto the live music from 1pm, with a wide range of vintage genres set to be covered by the James Oliver Band, the Wurlitzers, Dolly Parton and Meatloaf tributes, and headliners Soul Dragon.
For the early birds, street food and market stalls will be set up and raring to go from 9am along Stepney Street and Vaughan Street.
Traders will then be joined by street entertainment, fairground rides, and a load of vintage vehicles from 10am, including two vintage Llanelli buses on Cowell Street that are sure to evoke some memories.
A number of workshops are also available from 10am to 4pm; the Annibendod bus on Cowell Street will be offering free textiles workshops in the theme of Dolly Parton and Meatloaf, while A Taste of Times Past will be hosting a fresh pickling workshop in the morning and embroidery in the afternoon.
Venues throughout the town centre are set to carry on the fun after 6pm, with a vintage costume competition in the York Palace, cocktail offers in Marzano’s Caffe Bar, and live music in Ruby’s.
Details including the full event itinerary can be found on Ymlaen Llanelli’s social media.
Next up in the Bid’s calendar of events is the mouth watering Llanelli Food and Drink Festival, which will see street food vendors and artisan producers lining the streets of Llanelli town centre on Saturday, October 15.