Trust festival to celebrate canal near Newport

The Norbury Canal Festival will be held at Norbury Junction, near Newport, between May 4 and 6. Organised by the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust, it will raise money for the redevelopment of Wappenshall Wharf near Telford.

The three-day event will include a narrowboat rally, an explorable historic working boat, and 20 trading boats including the Cheese Boat and the Fudge Boat as well as new inclusions the Brew Boat and the Hippie Boat. Boat trips will also be operating along the canal.

The Norbury Junction Inn will host fairground attractions and stalls, as well as children's entertainment and face painting. The festival will open from 10am each day.

On the Saturday the Stafford Morris Dancers will perform, while emergency service crews will display their vehicles on Sunday. The traditional canalside church service will go ahead at 3pm on Sunday.

Evening entertainment will begin from 5.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, with the Dynamic Dick Band and Samantha Lloyd performing on Saturday, and gypsy jazz quartet Bon Accord on Sunday.

Parking nearby will be available for £2 a vehicle.

Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust chairman Bernie Jones said: “The festival is our most popular fundraising event every year with a wealth of activities for all the family.

“It’s a great day out and we look forward to welcoming our supporters and lots of other people who are interested in finding out more about this traditional way of life as well as having fun.

“The first phase of the restoration programme at Wappenshall - the refurbishment of the smaller of the two warehouses to become a coffee shop and bistro and the re-watering of the East basin - is progressing well and on target for completion later this year

"The canal festival will help us to raise the valuable funds we need to continue our work.”