NE1’s Quayside Carnival will be back in Newcastle on Saturday, August 22, following the success of last summer's debut when it attracted more than 10,000 visitors. This year the layout will be twice the size.
Full road closures and suspension of parking will be in place around the quayside, where a range of free activities and live performances will be staged at nine entertainment zones running from the Guildhall along the front to Wesley Square and extending into neighbouring streets and businesses all the way to the Blacksmith’s Needle sculpture.
Free activities and new additions
A focal point will be a 30ft climbing wall. The day-long free programme will include K-pop tribute bands, Pokémon trading corners, circus performances, dance and workshops. Freebies include a barbecue at a pop-up outdoor kitchen at DOOD restaurant and drinks from a traditional lemonade stand at Malmaison hotel.
Freight Island, which opened in June at the opposite end of the city where the new £16m rooftop village has taken over the top floor space of the former Debenhams store in Eldon Square, will host a silent disco. Participants can don headphones, choose their favourite channel and dance to feel-good hits, family favourites and party anthems.
Gino D’Acampo restaurant is running free mocktail-making sessions along with a 'kids eat free' offer, which are already booked up. Free boat trips on board the Canny Lass, which has just launched on the Tyne, are also fully booked. Availability remains at Pitcher & Piano for free dance sessions – samba, rumba or Michael Jackson-inspired classes – as well as yoga.
Road closures and carnival highlights
The carnival will run from 11am to 4pm on August 22. Along the route, visitors will find roving performers, circus acts, face-painting stations, glitter and bubble artists, a roaming caricature artist drawing free portraits, coconut shies, free candy floss, hook-a-duck and hula hoops.
Rachel Fenwick, head of marketing and events at NE1, said: “Last year’s Quayside Carnival exceeded all expectations. We knew there was a real appetite for a large-scale free family event on the Quayside but the response was incredible. The atmosphere was electric, the streets were packed and it proved just how much people value opportunities to celebrate their city.”
This year's event includes partnerships with Freight Island and the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, which is behind a Day Out By Bus Zone addition showcasing one of the new electric buses. A partnership with Seven Stories will include interactive storytelling.
Entertainment zones and performances
Let’s Circus will return with aerial trapeze acts and free circus workshops for children. A large stage in front of the Law Courts will feature a K-Pop Demon Hunters tribute act at 11am, followed by characters from Disney hits Moana, Toy Story and Frozen, alongside singers, dancers and performers. Between stage performances there will be foam parties, dancing and interactive entertainment.
A make-and-take zone will offer arts and crafts including festival badge-making, friendship bracelet-making and shell-painting. The Active Zone at the Swirle pavilion will host Zumba dance and yoga taster sessions, with Dance City in Newcastle offering tuition in a range of dance disciplines. Yoga Therapies will also offer sessions that must be pre-booked.
The Challenge Zone includes the 30ft climbing wall and the Hang Tough Challenge organised by Army personnel. Royal Air Force Air Cadets will host paper plane-making sessions, and crazy golf will return. The Newcastle Card Show Collectors Corner, a new addition, will include a card-trading zone for Pokémon fans and trading card enthusiasts, hosted inside KAEFER.
