The 15th annual Ouseburn Festival took place across the Ouseburn Valley on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th July.

Always a highlight on the region’s events calendar, the year’s festival aimed to include as much of the community as possible, with a broad range of events and activities for all age groups.

As well as the usual exciting range of workshops, activities and games for youngsters, a climbing wall, trampoline and other large games were added to the activities on offer across the weekend.

In the lead up to the festival, schools and youth centres in the east end of the City were invited to participate in arts workshops to create large scale banners and flags to decorate the whole area. 

In addition, workshops were available over the whole weekend for young people to enjoy. From 3D Lanterns, Chinese calligraphy, mask making and recycled sculpture workshops on Saturday 18th and 3D clay models, jewellery and sculptures made from recycled materials workshops on Sunday 19th. All workshops took place at the Farm.

The Bollywood Dance troupe from the previous year’s festival made a welcome return too, with a performance on Sunday. While Bollywood, Khatak and Capoeria workshops were available on the Saturday and Bollywood, Salsa and Belly Dancing on the Sunday.

The festival is also keen to engage teenagers and have been working closely with the Byker and Walker YMCA groups to devise a set of workshops and displays to interest and educate 12-17 year olds. Beginning on Saturday 18th local youngsters teamed up with professional graffiti artists from Trackside to create aerosol artwork across the Ouseburn Valley – the artwork developed over the weekend and depicted the cultural and creative benefits of life in the Ouseburn Valley. On Sunday 19th young people had the chance to watch break dancing displays courtesy of the award-winning Bad Taste Cru at Cluny 2, take part in a fashion show supported by Fifth Agency Fashion & Design at The Art Works Galleries, watch young up and coming bands on the outdoor stage and be dazzled by the DJing skills of young people who took part in Generator’s Cold Blend DJ workshops!

Comedy from The Suggestibles (as well as coffee and cake!) was on offer on Sunday 19th at The Art Works Galleries, alongside improvised comedy workshops on the Saturday afternoon.

36 Lime Street Gallery opened their doors across the weekend and provided workshops on jewellery making, puppetry and crafts. The Stepney Bank Stables werealso open all weekend, offering children and adults pony and horse riding; and Seven Stories The Centre For Children’s Books focused their theme on the 40th Anniversary of the moon landings as well as a visit from Dr Who!

The Marketplace returned bigger and better, with stalls from a huge variety of local businesses, craft makers and food establishments winding their way up Lime Street on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Also including the Star & Shadow Market at the Cinema itself on the Sunday afternoon.

Music lovers were spoilt for choice on Saturday 18th as NARC. Fest once again programmes the musical entertainment. Now encompassing eight venues in the Ouseburn Valley, NARC. Fest has gone from strength to strength over the last three years and promoters have been worked hard to present a cracking line-up of music!

Promoters working on last year’s festival included Ex Libris Records, SingShout Music, Prancey Dog, EatDisco, Get Involved, Canopy New Music, Hapless Museum Worker and NARC. magazine themselves, all providing a rich and varied line-up of music.

Headlining the event last year were Scottish indie rockers The Twilight Sad. The band released their second highly anticipated album, Forget The Night Ahead in September, they drew huge critical acclaim for their debut album Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, released on FatCat Records in 2007. Since then they’ve built up a reputation as a phenomenal live act, with their layered melodies and ‘wall of sound’ style live approach, they were the perfect headliners for last year’s genre defying festival!

Also on Saturday, the Ouseburn Regeneration Centre on Spillers Quay played host to a workshop from 4pm-6pm on the pleasures of playing the ukulele! Beginners and more experienced players were welcome and it was free for all age groups. The ever-popular Delta Day returned with a line-up of local roots musicians from 7pm, the line-up features Staggerin’ John Lee, Cath & Chet, Pilgrim, Mothers Ruin and The Outfit. At the same venue from midday older festivalgoers enjoyed a Tea Dance.

The traditional Cumberland Reel returned to the Cumberland Arms on the Sunday night. . Featured on the line-up were Cath & Phil Tyler, Nev Clay, and the fabulous Newcastle Kingsmen, among many more!

Ouseburn Festival 2008

The 12th annual Ouseburn Festival took place across the Ouseburn Valley on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July.

Always a highlight on the region’s events calendar, this festival aimed to celebrate the region’s diverse culture by bringing together communities and groups from the Ouseburn Valley to provide entertainment for all the family!

There was a huge range of activities available for all ages – from horse riding and boat building to plays, exhibitions, open studios and music.

One of the themes was ‘interactivity’ and on Saturday 19th July teenagers were invited to attend a music workshop led by Caffrey Bros. band member, Phil Caffrey, from 4pm-7pm at the Byker Ouseburn Regeneration Centre at Spillers Quay. There was a performance following on from the workshop where participants played with the Caffrey Bros. Band in front of family and friends.

Later at the same venue the ever-popular Delta Day returned with a line-up of local roots musicians culminating in a ‘everybody on stage jam!’. Artists playing the event from 8pm included The Pukes, Parrish Texas and Pilgrim. Entry to all events was free.

Also on Saturday the festival once again be organised a Tea Dance aimed at older participants. The Tea Dance took place from 12pm-3pm at the Byker Ouseburn Regeneration Centre on Spillers Quay. There was a DJ as well as live music, and a buffet lunch.

There was more entertainment for younger festival-goers on Saturday at the region’s newest theatre, The Round. The Bruvvers theatre group presented adaptations of two classic children’s stories from Macmillan’s famous Club 75 series: Bill Naughton’s The Goalkeeper’s Revenge and Alan Plater’s The Trouble With Abracadabra. These wonderful stories are packed full of the usual Bruvvers magic – good old-fashioned family entertainment!

On the Saturday evening the Ouseburn Valley played host to a huge variety of musical talent as NARC. Fest returned for the second year! Over 40 live bands and DJ’s graced the region across seven venues and, once again, all gigs were free! The musical line-up was eclectic to say the least, with country and roots music at The Tyne, exciting, cutting edge electro at The Cumberland Arms, indie pop at Retreat @ St. Dominics, psychedelic wonders at the Star & Shadow Cinema, ambient acoustica at Tanners Arms, quirky rock ‘n’ roll at The Cluny and DJ delights at The Ship.

The year’s headliner was Adem. A favourite on the nu-folk scene, Adem (pronounced Ah-dem) , Takes, a collection of cover songs by artists he has been influenced by over the years. His brand of quirky and unpredictable folk rock is a joy to behold, both live and on record. He was joined at NARC. Fest by his eight-piece band.

On Sunday 20th the themes of interactivity and diverse cultures came together during the Parade. Winding its way down from the City Stadium at 12pm to the Village Green, the Parade celebrated cultures from around the world with colourful displays, music and more! The Carnival activities delighted young and old alike, incorporating performances, workshops and demonstrations providing an opportunity to experience a taste of cultures from around the world through art, music and dance.

Experiences included the opportunity to be painted by a Mehndi artist; try on some traditional clothing at a Sari workshop; join in with a dance workshop – from Bollywood to Salsa; marvel at the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeria and join in the demonstration. There were several craft workshops available for children and adults alike including African masks, rain sticks, Mexican clay bowls, jewellery and musical instruments; origami; Aboriginal masks and banners. There was a demonstration of crafts from India and face painting from around the world.

Festival-goers were able to enjoy a selection of dance and musical groups on a stage at McPhees Yard (behind The Cluny) featuring a Bollywood dance group, an African dance group, a Khatak dance group, Flamenco dancers and a Capoeria demonstration.

During the workshops and the Parade there was a mixture of stalls on the Village Green featuring gifts and crafts and food from around the world.

The traditional Cumberland Reel returned to the Cumberland Arms on Sunday night featuring a variety of traditional folk entertainment – the perfect way to wind down the festival!

There were also several events taking place across the weekend as part of the festival. Seven Stories, the centre for children’s books, invited children of all ages to help build an imaginative willow Boat Structure. The sculpture was crafted over the weekend and dock in the Seven Stories Engine Room over the summer holidays and visitors were encouraged to add to the sculpture over the summer. There was also artist workshops and open days available at Northern Print, Artworks and 36 Lime Street; Stepney Bank Stables, the UK’s only inner-city community horse project, offerd lessons for under 5’s and adult beginners. The Phoenix Martial Arts Centre was open all weekend for demonstrations and workshops and the Ouseburn Trust Resource Centre was also open to educate people on the area, with live music across the weekend too.