Final touches made for River Festival
Hundreds of people will be messing about on the river to raise money for a vital charity which was formed 11 years ago.
The seventh annual Shrewsbury River Festival will be held in the Quarry and on the River Severn on June 3.
This year, the event, which runs from 10am-5pm is raising funds for West Mercia Search & Rescue (WMSAR) whose operational area covers 1.2 million people in three counties with the River Severn at their heart.
For this year's event WMSAR has introduced a new competition – the River Safety Relay race – for which they are offering free training at your workplace/venue.
Already boasting a range of entertainment for all the family, the last few trade and food pitches are waiting to be snapped up by traders in an event which has previously attracted around 7,000 visitors.
Festival organisers are also hoping to hear from potential raft race teams, for the few slots that are left. For those that don’t want to get wet, the organisers are inviting teams of four people to enter the River Safety Relay Race - from your workplace, your club, your pub – or just you and three friends. This will be a land-based relay race, using throw bags, which are the best way to help someone get out of a dangerous situation in water.
The festival is a great free family day out, offering a range of entertainment including boat, river safety relay and duck races, 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.
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, Team Shrewsbury, Shropshire Fire & Rescue, West Mercia Police, Shrewsbury Army Recruitment and the RNLI – to name but a few.
The WMSAR’s rescue boats are regularly on the river and all of their equipment, overheads and training are paid for by charitable donations and grants. All members are volunteers who fund their own travel, personal equipment and selected training, and also commit to fundraising events, such as Shrewsbury River Festival, throughout the year.
“We will be giving live demonstrations of our rescue skills, with rescue boats and kayaks on the water and displays including our Incident Command Unit, our quad bikes and first-aid and safety techniques,” said Andy Neal of WMSAR.
“We are also organising a ‘River Safety Relay’ race for teams of four. This fun race against the clock demands skill and accuracy, developing teamwork and teach a new set of skills that could save a life. We urge local firms, pubs, clubs and groups to enter a team, have some fun on the dry land, enjoy the competition and enter into the spirit of the festival.
“And if you fancy getting wet, you can always enter a team in the raft race on the river – all for a very good cause.”
