One of the country’s largest celebrations the coast, the Wexford Maritime Festival is set to host five vintage lifeboats later this week from June 24th to 26th as the vessels voyage to Wexford from across Ireland and the UK.
The 100 year old ‘Whitby’ lifeboat will arrive for display during the festival weekend along with former Royal National Life Boats the ‘Canadian Pacific’ from Kyle of Lochalsh, ‘J. W. Archer’ from Wales and the ‘Joseph Soar’ from Coleraine. The antiquated lifeboats will take pride of place on the Quayside in Wexford town alongside a Wexford's maritime heritage showcase at the festivals Maritime Model Village where an exhibition on Vintage Transport through the lens of Robert Shorthall with over 100 model boats and aircraft will be on display.
Wexford Maritime Festival offers festivalgoers an action-packed programme of events on Wexford Quays, with everything displays of maritime heritage to opportunities to try a new watersport along with search and rescue displays to stunt aircraft taking to the skies.
Commenting on the upcoming weekend one of the festival organisers Lorraine Galvin says, “We are set to welcome over 40,000 people to the festival, most of our events are on offer for free or for a nominal price with all proceeds from this event being donated to the RNLI. This is the fifth year of the festival and the programme is our biggest yet, we are also expanding the programme by a day as we run from Friday right through until Sunday evening this year. This festival is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our 275 kilometres of coastline here in Wexford.”
The festival launches on the Friday evening with a Gala Banquet hosted by the Wexford Food Family with celebrity chef Phelim Byrne. In all 38 festival events will take place, highlights inlcude Rescue Saturday where a major Search and Rescue display with aircraft, lifeboats and ambulance crews showcase their capabilities and skills. Along with a large Emergency Services Village, visitors can meet the crews and see their equipment including the first visit by the Irish Armys Mowag Piranha IIIH 8x8 armoured personnel carrier, Irish Coast Guard, RNLI, Defence Forces, Civil Defence, Gardia, Wexford MarineWatch, Seal Rescue, HSE.
Fun-day Sunday sees a spectacular stunt show with formations with two RV 7 aircraft with gravity defying, jaw dropping displays take to the skies above the Quayside.
A ‘Try it Dock’ will be on offer in the Maritime Village with local water sports groups taking people out to try out some new waterbased. Wexford Sub Aqua club will host a free try a dive Sunday 26 at 4.45 p.m. and the ever popular Raft Races take place on Sunday afternoon for teams of six.
A rowing regatta and sailing regatta will also take place and a flyboarder 'Ironman’ will quire literally walk on water. And for the landlubbers, lots of activities will be on offer shoreside with food and music to the fore with Wexford band Corneryboy and SoulTrek and the Funk Generation will entertain the messes along with a Big Barbeque bash for a summer festival vibe.
The Childrens Village welcomes fun activities including Art and Colouring, Crazy Games, Disco Fun, Wobbly Circus Show, Viking Village and Recreate Environment Workshops.
