RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL

This is a two-day family festival of music and fun on the banks of the River Soar. The annual Riverside Festival has grown into one of the city’s biggest free events, bringing live music, family activities and workshops and all the fun of the waterways to the heart of the city. The festival takes place on the mile straight of the river, Western Boulevard and in Bede Park. It's run by Leicester City Council and sponsored by local social landlord Riverside and ECHG.

I really like this event, not least because it all happens just around the corner from where I used to live for four years (2006-10). It's great for the kids of course - though I reserve the second day for myself - and the lovely food on offer.

Brightly decorated narrowboats take pride of place along the river (we can vote for our favourite). Decorated boats parade along the river and there are also activities involving boats ranging from coracles and canoes to a floating tea shop.

There's live music throughout the weekend. The photo above shows the WaterAid Choir. I know a few people who sing in that (though I couldn't point them out in the photo).

At the end of the second day, I have an interesting chat with two women from Ride Leicester (a Leicester City Council initiative): Fiona tells me about an occasion in her native Sydney, where members of faith communities had a Ride to Worship day, when community members swapped their cars for bikes; and Janet, who is nursing an idea for an organised bike ride round a variety of places of worship in Leicester. I give both of them my card and urge them to contact me so we can follow up on these ideas.

BUDGET CUTS WOULD THROW DOUBT ON CARNIVAL FUTURE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Budget cuts would throw doubt on carnival future

The boss of Leicester's Caribbean Carnival says a city council proposal to cut its funding by £40,000 could jeopardise its future.

Dennis Christopher also claimed the carnival was bearing the brunt of funding reductions because Leicester City Council was "too scared" to cut cash which goes towards festivals such as Diwali.

The carnival costs about £200,000 to stage and is part-funded with £100,000 from the city council – a figure which is now under review.

Mr Christopher said: "This is one of the most popular carnivals in the country. Such a large cut to our funding could potentially see us have to cancel it in future years.

"This is a direct hit on the Caribbean community of Leicester. I understand the council needs to review its spending on carnivals but I feel it is focusing on this because it is too scared to cut funding for events like Diwali in case it offends some communities."

The carnival, which is in its 28th year, attracts more than 80,000 spectators.

Other festivals and events also face cuts. Under the proposals, payments supporting the Castle Park Festival will be scrapped, funding for the Hindu festival of Dashera will be halved, while the Humberstone Park bonfire will lose all its financial support.

Geoff Carr, 42, of Uppingham Road, Leicester, said: "I take the wife and kids to the bonfire at Humberstone Park every year. It would be sad if it had to stop."

Mary Carter, 56, of Aylestone, said: "I'm not Hindu but I think it's great we celebrate Dashera here. It adds to city culture and I'd hate for us to lose it."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "It is important to stress we are not proposing cuts to the overall festival budget. That budget of £365,000 will stay the same.

"Instead, we're looking at whether our priorities are right, and that each festival or event is being given a suitable amount of money."

Funding for the Leicester Comedy Festival, Belgrave Mela, Riverside Festival and the Christmas light switch-on is protected under the proposals.

Abbey Park bonfire, the St George's Day festival, the Diwali celebrations and the Spark Children's Arts Festival, would also receive the same amount of cash.

A consultation on the proposals is under way until July. Views gathered will go to the city mayor and his cabinet for consideration before final decisions are made in the autumn.

City residents are also being asked for ideas for a new festival.The mayor said an event similar to the City of Leicester Show was a possibility.

The event, held in Abbey Park until the mid-1990s, featured acrobatic events, military displays, show jumping, bands and more.To have your say, visit:www.leicester.gov.uk/ FestivalsandEventsConsultation

riverside festival: Sunday

Saturday was bright, clear and sunny - indeed, it was the hottest day of the year so far. Early on Sunday, though, it's raining so heavily that it sets off car alarms in our street! I don't envy anyone who's setting up for the day at the Riverside Festival.

We finally get back into the swing of things late morning. Highlight of the day is a Pub Quiz (I'm sure they mean "Pop Quiz", since it's not actually in a pub) hosted by Presence. Harry, Grace and I win! Our prize is a small garden gnome, which Harry names "Steve" (photo above)

While the kids occupy themselves with various bits of colouring and so on, I talk to people on the Presence stall and find out more about them. They describe themselves as offering a fresh approach to church in Leicester mainly for postmodern young adults, people in apartments and students living along the waterfront and the edge of the city centre. They've been mandated by Bishop Tim to be a church in every sense, except having a church!

Find out more about Presence:
http://www.presence-church.com/presence-church.com/Welcome.html

Facebook users can visit Presence's Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Leicester-United-Kingdom/Presence-Leicester/148297528902?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=15

riverside festival: Saturday

A two-day family festival of music and fun on the banks of the River Soar. The annual Riverside Festival has grown into one of the city’s biggest free events, bringing live music, family activities and workshops and all the fun of the waterways to the heart of the city. The festival takes place on the mile straight of the river, Western Boulevard and in Bede Park. It is run by Leicester City Council and sponsored by local social landlord Riverside and ECHG.

I really like this event, not least because it's all just round the corner from where I've lived for the past four years, in a part of the ciity I pass through every day. I love the transformation, and for this fairly ordinary part of the city - my part of the city - to be the focus of attention for a couple of days.

Along the riverside, on Western Boulevard and in Bede Park, there are performers and entertainers of various kinds entertain, falconry displays, art workshops and a street market, as well as BMX displays, a mini cinema, puppet shows, a mobile petting zoo, circus skills workshops and arts and crafts on show. Some of Leicester's top bands perform on a temporary stage. For the first time, From Dusk2Dawn magazine hosts a fringe festival bringing three nights of live music to venues along Braunstone Gate.

Brightly decorated narrowboats take pride of place along the river (we can vote for our favourite). Decorated boats parade along the river, accompanied by live traditional jazz, and there are also activities involving boats ranging from coracles and canoes to a floating tea shop. One popular activity on the water is the lantern parade. There's a stall on which we can decorate a paper lantern, which will be put into the water, with a tea light, just as it gets dark around 2100. People colour their lanterns and write dedications on them. There must be about a hundred of them in the water later. Trouble is, though, it's not exactly a fast-flowing stretch of water so there's very little movement in the lantern parade. Some folk go out in a couple of rowing boats to try and generate some movement in the water, using their oars. The lanterns certainly move at this prompting, but the trouble is, they're paper lanterns, with tea lights inside them - tea lights, with their little naked flames. Well, after moving for only a few yards, the lanterns bunch up, some of the tea lights fall over inside the lanterns and suddenly there's a conflagration on the river. Now the oars that have been responsible for this catastrophe are pressed into service to save the situation, being used to chuck water on the flames. This, as I'm sure you can imagine faithful reader, rather spoils the occasion. The final use of the oars this evening - as far as the lanterns are concerned - is to scoop up the limp and lifeless paper and drop it all into the bottom of the boats to be brought back to the bank for dismal disposal.