Moira Canal Festival returns this weekend
THE annual Moira Canal Festival will return for its 17th year over the weekend of May 27-28 at the historic, Grade II listed Moira Furnace on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.
The 2017 Moira Canal Festival will take place on the restored length of the Ashby Canal, and will be hosting the Inland Waterways Association’s National Trailboat Festival for a real celebration of the small boats of Britain’s waterways.
The Canal Festival aims to raise awareness of, and money for, the restoration, extension and maintenance of the Ashby Canal. The Ashby Canal was completed in 1804 to serve the coalfield of South Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire. The Ashby Canal is now being restored from its current terminus at Snarestone to Moira, Leicestershire. This major project will ultimately reconnect Meash- am, Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe and Moira to the national waterways network, and provide a green gateway to the Heart of the National Forest.
At this year’s Moira Canal Festival, there will be a boat parade and a wide range of family entertainment around the banks of the Ashby Canal including the Coldstream Foot Guards 1815 and its realistic living history village, and armoury and combat displays.
Visitors will also enjoy a spectacular performance and mystifying show from Van Buren, Member of the Magic Circle. There will be music, with an assortment of bands and singers over the weekend, Morris dancing on Saturday, an RAF Dakota flypast on Sunday, fun for the children, live steam train rides, a variety of stalls and demonstrations, classic cars, historic engines, boats, plus a bar and refreshments. Shreck the boat horse will lead the boat parade and there will also be a chance to enter a duck in the Duck Race along the Ashby Canal.
Tickets are priced at adults £5, children (five-16 years) £2.50, with under fives free. For further information or for booking forms, visit www.moiracanalfestival.co.uk or email moiracanalfestival@outlook.com
Geoff Pursglove, organiser of the Moira Canal Festival, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the National Trailboat Festival to this year’s annual Moira Canal Festival. The event continues to grow in popularity and will really give us the opportunity to showcase our beautiful Ashby Canal and the historic Moira Furnace to visitors for a fantastic weekend of boats and fun.”
The Moira Canal Festival is supported by Ashby Canal Trust, The National Forest, Conkers, The Inland Waterways Association and Leicestershire County Council.