Morecambe Vintage-by-the-Sea returns this weekend

Morecambe is gearing up for another big crowd-pulling festival as Vintage-by-the-Sea returns for its fifth year.
The Vintage by the Sea festival attracted large numbers in 2016 to see the various craft, vintage stalls and exhibitions based around the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. Competitors in the vintage cycle competition. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday September 03, 2016.The Vintage by the Sea festival attracted large numbers in 2016 to see the various craft, vintage stalls and exhibitions based around the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. Competitors in the vintage cycle competition. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday September 03, 2016.
The Vintage by the Sea festival attracted large numbers in 2016 to see the various craft, vintage stalls and exhibitions based around the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. Competitors in the vintage cycle competition. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday September 03, 2016.

Since debuting in 2013, the event has become a fixture on the town’s calendar for both visitors and residents alike.

Once again hotels will be booked up and the promenade packed with people in their vintage finery for two days of entertainment.

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Vintage-by-the-Sea comes hot on the heels of this year’s successful Morecambe Carnival, Morecambe Music Festival, the kite and steampunk festivals, and many other events which have boosted the town’s economy.

Vintage is the brainchild of Morecambe-born designer and TV celebrity Wayne Hemingway MBE and his family.

New for this year is a Vintage Cross Bay Walk led by Cedric Robinson MBE, the Queen’s Guide to the Sands. Mr Robinson will lead walkers, clad in vintage clothes, from Arnside to Kents Bank on Sunday.

Other family-friendly events, many of them free, will be centred around the Midland Hotel and Platform.

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They include the Vintage Marketplace, street theatre, the Bradford to Morecambe vintage car rally, a fairground and a live music stage.

With big crowds expected, Marine Road Central will be closed between Central Drive and Northumberland Street on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm.

The festival opens with screening of ‘Morecambe on Film’ by the North West Film Archive at the Platform at 8pm on Thursday.

A private event will be held at the Stone Jetty Cafe on Friday evening with a welcome from Mr Hemingway, the opening of new exhibition by Ben Hall and Charlie Kondras ‘Supermarche & Friends’ and 1960s vinyl soul music.

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Limited tickets are available for Saturday night’s Torch Club 1940s ball at the Midland.

There will also be a ‘45 Live’ night of soul, funk and cool music in a marquee at the back of the Midland on Saturday evening.

And organisers also promise the biggest collection of food stalls to date!

Selected events

THURSDAY

MORECAMBE ON FILM screening by North West Film Archive, tickets £7.50, concessions £6.50, Friends of the Dukes £5, The Platform, 8pm, tickets https://dukes-lancaster.org

SATURDAY

CLASSIC CAR SHOW - Midland Hotel car park, 11am to 6pm

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TORCH CLUB BALL - an evening of 1940s glamour with Benoit Viellefon’s Hot Club, the Gatsby Girls and Mr Melody Man, tickets £75 from 01524 424000.

45 LIVE - funk, soul, hip hop, boogaloo, latin and breaks music night with MC Kwasi, The Templebys, DJs Boca 45, Pete Isaac, Beatphreak, Paul Thornton and Wayne Hemingway, ticket s £6/£8/£10 plus booking fee from skiddle.com, 8pm til late, in the Festival Big Top behind the Midland Hotel.

SUNDAY

BRADFORD TO MORECAMBE CAR RALLY, arriving 10.30am, leaving 4pm to 5pm

HERITAGE BUS JOURNEYS - 11am to 6pm

VINTAGE CROSS BAY WALK - £10 adults, £5 children on the day, registration 3pm to 3.45pm at Arnside, walk starts 4pm, (also Vintage Bus return travel available from Morecambe Town Hall rear car park to Kents Bank, pick-up 2.30pm, return 7.30pm, travel costs £15).

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

MELODROME LIVE MUSIC STAGE - Promenade Gardens, 11am to 6pm

VINTAGE FAIRGROUND - Behind the Midland Hotel, 11am to 6pm

VINTAGE HAIR SALON - Midland Hotel, 11am to 5.15pm

DONKEY RIDES - Behind the Midland Hotel, 11am to 6pm

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ROUTEMASTER BUS BAR - Promenade Gardens, noon to 6pm and outside Platform noon to 6pm

STREET FOOD - Behind the Midland Hotel, 11am to 6pm

VINTAGE CAFE, FACE PAINTING and WORKSHOPS - ‘Little Big Top’ marquee behind the Midland, 11am to 5.30pm

AFTERNOON TEA BY THE SEA - tickets £21.50, bookings 01524 428370, noon to 2pm, 3pm to 5pm, Midland Hotel.

VINTAGE MARKETPLACE 11am to 6pm, The Platform

MAKERS MARKET - 11am to 6pm Saturday, 11am to 5pm Sunday, Midland Hotel

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AD HOC THEATRE COMPANY presents THE 39 STEPS - Morecambe Library, Saturday 7.30pm, Sunday 5.30pm, tickets £8 for library performances. Also free performances at Vintage-by-the-Sea during the day.

For more see www.vintagefestival.co.uk .