Press release from IWA:
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) Events Team (formerly IWA Festivals) is pleased to announce its new summer event. The Saul Waterways Pageant will be held over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Saturday 23rd to Monday 25th August 2014 at the junction of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and Stroudwater Navigation.
The event will focus on waterway activities with a programme of competitions including boat handling, canoeing, tug of war, Best Boat in Bloom, illuminated boat display, best kept engine and room, as well as three cruising awards kindly sponsored by River Canal Rescue.
Holding the event on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal will also allow inland waterways access for sailing ships and other much larger vessels to attend and celebrate the Pageant. The event will showcase the diversity of interests on and around the waterways. As well as the water-based competitions, activities will include walking, fishing, cycling and Geocaching.
The Saul Waterways Pageant will celebrate the restoration work taking place on the Cotswold Canals, and promote the forthcoming Heritage Lottery bid the Cotswold Canals Trust is making. During the pageant, IWA's Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) will be working with the Trust, to restore the canal at Ham Mill and Bowbridge Locks near Stroud. Members of the public are invited to come along and see ‘WRG in action’. WRG will also be holding Canal Camp restoration holidays in other locations on the Cotswold Canals over the summer.
Refreshments will be available from the Real Ale Bar alongside artisan food stalls. An evening social programme is also being planned for IWA members, boaters and campers. On the Bank Holiday Monday a Boat Jumble will be open from 10:30 – 15:30.
The event will promote the use of the waterways locally and nationally as well as the campaigning work carried out by IWA. Find out how you can get more involved with the inland waterways across UK.
There will be no admission charge, although there will be suggested minimum donation of £2 per person.
On the Saturday and Sunday there will be a market and the Events Team would like to hear from boaters, charities and local groups who are interested in having a stall and fundraising for their chosen cause and IWA.
Booking forms are available for download online at www.waterways.org.uk/saulpageant
Further details of the programme are also available on the web page.
Kevin Woods, IWA Events Team Chairman said "This is a fantastic opportunity for IWA to launch a new look event to attract boaters and the public and promote IWA"
Les Etheridge, IWA National Chairman said “I am sure this event will prove an attraction for many boaters, and help to draw further attention to the excellent restoration work promoted by Cotswold Canals Trust. The Trust has IWA’s strongest support in its bid for further Heritage Lottery Funding, which if successful would link the restored parts of the Stroudwater Navigation and Thames & Severn Canal to the rest of the connected navigable network at Saul Junction.”
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