Save the date for Harbour Fest 2023!

Harbour Fest 2023 • Saturday 1 July, 11am-5pm • Whitehaven Harbour

Rosehill Arts Trust and Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners are delighted to announce that Harbour Fest will return on 1 July 2023.

The festival will once again feature live promenade performances, music, arts and crafts, and lots more, which will illuminate the unique harbour of Whitehaven and celebrate the local community. The event will be free and open to all.

This year we will also be working in partnership with The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven Marina, and The National Trust – Whitehaven Coast to showcase the full and fantastic offer of Whitehaven’s Harbour and coast.

The Festival ProgrammeHighlights of this year’s festival will include a Cumbrian premiere of Theatre Temoin’s fantastic outdoor show Flood, outdoor arts company Walk The Plank will also be bringing their amazing ‘The Climate Change Myth Buster’ to the shores of West Cumbria for the first time and we also have a fabulous flock of wonderful walkabout characters performed by Fabularium.

We will also be working in partnership with Mahogany Opera to showcase their fantastic new project The Great Learning. The Beacon Museum will bring its new exhibitions to life outside the museum. Unity Cumbria will also have a presence at this year’s festival to celebrate and share stories of Cumbria’s multicultural communities.

This year we will also have a range of free family arts and crafts activities across the site. Including an immersive and playful installation by Brighton-based visual arts company Leap Then Look, a creative pottery station led by Florence Arts Centre and a fish kite making space led by Handpicked Productions.

You can also drop in to the National Trust story circle on Wellington Terrace for some free story time with stories of the sea and the shore.

At the hub performance area, we will be showcasing some of the best local up-and-coming music, community choirs, and a local brass band.

Alongside all of this there will also be street theatre, community stalls, and harbour-related activities and information.

The full downloadable programme will be available closer to the date - but once again you can expect harbour-related themes, fabulous sounds, fantastic performances, and free family fun.

Daniel Whitehouse, Creative Director at Rosehill, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners team to present the wonderful Harbour Fest again in 2023. Throughout the day we will be programming fantastic performances, music, and family-friendly activities which will all be free to the public.

"We are really looking forward to what is set to be a fun-filled and exciting day. This festival is part of our continuing commitment to providing affordable and accessible events for families of West Cumbria, so we hope to see you there."

John Baker, Chief Executive of Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, said: "We are delighted to be once again working in partnership with the Rosehill team to bring an action-packed day full of activities for all the family. Harbour Fest is very much about bringing our communities together and creating a fun day with arts, heritage, and culture at the heart of it whilst celebrating our wonderful Harbour, Coast and our rich history.

"We look forward to another great day with everyone and to building on the many successes of last year’s inaugural event. The programme Rosehill are putting together is incredibly exciting and our thanks also to an array of other partners and supporters who are coming together to make it a day not to miss."