Begins 4 August Years active 28 Most recent 2014 Genre Arts festival | Ends 7 August Inaugurated 1988 Location Stockton-on-Tees | |
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Similar Georgian Theatre, Preston Park - Stockton‑on‑Tees, Preston Hall - Preston‑on‑Tees, Tees Barrage, Princess of Wales Bridge | ||
Stockton international riverside festival 15 instant light sirf community carnival
The Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) is an annual outdoor arts festival in Stockton-on-Tees, England. It includes UK and international performers. In 1991 local musicians collaborated to stage the Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival - which became Stockton Weekender from 2011 to 2014 when it ceased.
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Stockton international riverside festival friday
Festival history
The first Stockton Riverside Festival was founded by Frank Wilson and the first festival took place in August 1988. The centrepiece was Circus Burlesque’s big top show. 24 years later, the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) has grown into an internationally famous event that attracts thousands of spectators. The North-East section of travel website iknow-UK calls it 'One of the North East's top summer family festivals'.
Stockton Weekender (Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival)
The Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival was created in 1991 as a companion event to SIRF. It was intended to showcase local talent after local performers started to feel left out of the main festival in favour of bigger acts. The event was replaced in 2011 by the Stockton Weekender.
Stockton Weekender was independently produced and promoted by Tees Music Alliance - a not for profit music collective and social enterprise.
Although the event features international headline acts (The Pogues in 2012, Maximo Park in 2011 and Calvin Harris in 2010), the festival retains its local focus and features local performers.
Following Stockton Weekender 2014, Tees Music Alliance announced that the event would no longer take place after failing to sell enough tickets to cover the costs of the event.