Fleetwood’s annual Tram Sunday event is the envy of many a larger place and a source of pride for town that’s had its fair share of knocks. Billed as a transport festival, Tram Sunday is in fact a full on community event with music, stalls, fair ground rides, food; plus the pubs and a lot of the shops are open. Oh, and there may even be some public transport and other vintage vehicles in attendance. Starting at 10am, there’s something for everybody; Tram Sunday finishes with a final SpareParts Super Scrap Race at 3.30pm
This year the event is joined by SpareParts, the UK’s only festival of art dedicated to transport, travel and motion. Artists have been working in the community for weeks beforehand to prepare a series of activities that will be delivered through the day. This includes a unique motion installation that will form an integral part of the events in Memorial Park, which young people living on the West View Estate have created.
The list of activities promised is too extensive to list, so turn up and watch or take part as they are threaded through the day’s progress. A few teasers would be the bike dash challenge, skating bees and a sea monster from the ocean’s depths. Also catch the Bullzini Family’s 8m high wire spectacle, closing the day’s events in the Memorial Park at 4.30pm. The SpareParts Super Scrap Race will include also mobility scooters ‘personalised’ (pimped up!) with the help of local school children.
This is the kind of project that really brings a sense of community ownership to any event and demonstrates the incredibly positive role that arts and promoting creativity can play. It brings and enables creativity among those to whom it might ever occur that they are creative.
Adam McGuigan, SpareParts Festival Director, said: “I am delighted to have been able to work on such an exciting project; it really is a unique festival. I am inspired to see we have been able to work creatively with partners to bring a high-quality range of performances, all with a transport theme, to the Festival and in particular the SpareParts Super Scrap Race (at 3.30pm)!
SpareParts has adopted five zones for you to work round:
- The Junkyard (Memorial Park) – The village, a wild world of motion and mayhem
- Zone 2 (Lord Street and Warrenhurst Road) – a stage featuring a continual display of local musical talents
- Zone 3 (Lord Street) – the most colourful characters will entertain the crowds all day – the curvaceous Boom Booms to skating bees and the infamous Lollipop Ladies
- Zone 4 – Pharos Place will host a mixture of local, national and international performances with a memorable journeys theme
- Off the Rails – Kid’s Station (Euston Gardens) – ‘Off the Rails’ takes over Euston Gardens just for the under 10s, with circus, dance, craft and drumming workshops.
Don’t forget that Fleetwood’s an interesting place in itself. If you need a break from all this excitement, have a walk on the beach, take the ferry to Knott End, wander down Marine Parade and see if any model boats are being sailed, or nip into the museum. Take some chill time!
Since we have a strong transport theme, take the tram or the bus service 1, 14 or 22 to this fine event and free up some road-space. I understand that there are heritage tram trips between Blackpool and Fleetwood for the day and there will be heritage trams around, not usually seen this far north these days. Oh, and did I mention its all free?
For more information you can find the programme online here.
Cover image courtesy of Dawn Mander.
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