Float along to Oxford Canal Festival

Liz Nicholls

Community & Charity, Oxfordshire, Round and About

Oxford’s residents are proud to announce the line-up for this year’s free-to-visit Oxford Canal Festival, 11am-6pm on Saturday, 21st September

Head along and enjoy a community day of festival fun on the Aristotle Lane Recreation Ground, OX2 – entry is free!

Proceeds will go to ‘The Kilsby Theatre Boat Project’ – the 108-year-old narrowboat being rescued to become a new community theatre boat for Oxford’s waterways.

The music line up included the Jericho Singers, Ben Avison & Three Idle Women, Weekend Warriors, The Dirty Big Canal Dance Band, Mambo Panthers, Papa Nui, and Senegalese kora musician Jali Fily Cissokho.

Visit the Spoken Word Tent for a fantastic literary experience with Sir Philip Pullman reading live on stage, Roy MacFarlane, our Canal Laureate announcing the winning performances from this year’s poetry competition and the hugely fun University Challenged quiz with local teams taking on Oxford University finest brains!

Enjoy stalls selling jewellery, clothing, treats and local crafts on the Oxford canal running alongside the Aristotle Rec. There will be fun activities running all day for children including: face painting, art, a bouncy castle, a Canal Olympics, Arts and Crafts projects, and a Cinema showing local history short films.

Visitors can also enter a fun dog show – a hugely entertaining and impressive competition with our winners taking home fantastic canine prizes.

Craft beers and non-alcoholic drinks will be available in the bar tent, and a big selection of food vendors will be on site offering international cuisines.

The Kilsby Boat Project is rescuing and restoring a 1912 canal boat, reinventing it as a community venue for storytelling, music and boat trips. Kilsby is moored at Tooley’s historic boatyard awaiting restoration works that will enable her to make the trip back home to Oxford.

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