York 800: Festival of the Rivers starts the celebrations (From York Press)

York 800: Festival of the Rivers starts the celebrations

8:00am Saturday 21st January 2012 in York 800 news

York’s Festival of the Rivers 2012 will start on Saturday 7 July – and its opening will mark the first event of the York 800 Charter Weekend Celebrations.

The River Ouse will stage the largest flotilla ever seen in the City of York, with vessels from home and away, large and small, privately and commercially owned, crewed by one or by many.

Add to this colour, music and dance and it will be a day to remember, providing the perfect curtain raiser to the Charter Weekend and the Festival of the Rivers.

On Sunday 8 July, the annual Dragon Boat Races take to the water, raising many thousands of pounds for local charities.

Over the following days there will be a programme of events celebrating the two great rivers to which York owes much of its history.

Visiting boats and riverside locations will provide facilities for music, arts, stories, talks, re-enactments, food, retail and films.

Local boating organisations will give members of the public opportunities to join in ‘come and try it sessions’, and canoeists from across the country will come to York for the annual Canoe Race.