Ahoy there! River Severn pirates ready for Shrewsbury festival
Hundreds of people are expected to attend this weekend's River Festival in the heart of Shrewsbury.
At the centre of Sunday's event will be the Raft Race which will see eight groups of pirates vying to win in homemade 'ships'.
Race sponsor Rybrook will have their own BMW and Mini crews competing head to head, alongside others from Marks & Spencer, The Red Barn, The Charles Darwin, The Armoury, WSP and Techni Systems.
All teams will have the same quantity of barrels, pallets and rope to make their rafts in only one hour earlier in the day, with the battle taking place in the afternoon.
There will also be a fancy dress competition, a duck race and the opportunity to watch raft race organiser Phil Gittins walk the plank off the new Sabrina sister pirate ship. West Mercia Search and Rescue's (WMSAR) are also hosting a new competition – the Accutest ‘River Safety Relay’ Race – for which they are offering free training.
The festival, which is now in its seventh year, will be held in the Quarry and on the River Severn 10am-5pm.
This year the event is raising funds for WMSAR, which was formed in 2007 and whose operational area covers 1.2 million people in three counties.
All members are volunteers who fund their own travel, personal equipment and selected training, and also commit to fundraising events throughout the year.
The event is free to attend and there will be various demonstrations on the river and in the Quarry, coracles, canoeing, trade and food stalls, children’s pirate fancy dress and other competitions, as well as live entertainment such as Morris dancing from Shrewsbury Morris, and music from the Chicago Swing Catz and the Shropshire Boatmen.
The event is organised by volunteers and supported by a number of organisations including Shrewsbury Town Football Club in the Community, Salop Leisure, Salop Computer Centre, Salop Design & Engineering, staff from Marks & Spencer Shrewsbury, Team Shrewsbury, Shropshire Fire & Rescue, West Mercia Police and the RNLI.
“We are really looking forward to Shrewsbury River Festival,” said Georgie Dixon, of Rybrook Shrewsbury.
“Raising money for the West Mercia Search & Rescue, and teaching people about River Safety is an excellent cause – we are happy to be involved.”
