A festival of watersports, music and more returns to North Tyneside from tomorrow with a pop-up food, drink and music event on the Spanish City Plaza, Whitley Bay.
North Sea Weekender features an open surf contest, a pop-up food and drink village, yoga, photography competition and very special one-off music shows.
The festival attracted thousands of visitors in 2021 after hundreds of people signed up to take part and shows sold out quickly.
Local businesses Northerly Swell and Split Chimp will host the pop-up food and drink village on the Plaza this Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 5pm with live music, a bar and some of the region’s most sought-after street food including Acropolis, Good Times Tacos, Scream for Pizza, Fat Hippo, Big Fat Indian Kitchen and Black Middens Coffee Company.
Organisers have taken the decision to postpone Stand Up Paddle Board activities off Cullercoats Bay this weekend.
Saturday’s races were due to include 1.5km, 2.5km, 5km, tandem and K9 categories while Sunday would have seen an open swim and a giant paddle board team race.
Simon Laing from CBK Adventures said 'This weekend we are expecting strong offshore winds on the North Tyneside coast. For the safety of our participants and our team, we have decided to postpone the North Sea Weekender SUP and Swim events in Cullercoats. To run a safe event, we ideally need average wind speeds below 12mph if blowing offshore. We are looking to reschedule the event for later this month. The new date will be announced as soon as possible.'
The following weekend, October 8-9, the hugely popular Tynemouth Surf Co’s Open Surf Contest returns to Longsands with prize money up for grabs for competitors and a chance for spectators to see international surfers in action. The weekend features a major national junior competition too.
Spectators can hear full live commentary on the beach over both weekends.
There are some very special live music shows as part of the festival this year.
Turntable legend DJ Yoda plays the Salt Market Social in North Shields on October 7 with local breakthrough artist Hector Gannet playing a sold out show at the same venue the following day.
There’s the chance to hear some great new music from The Early Purple as they play an intimate show at the magical Watch House Museum in Tynemouth on 2 October.
Other activities across the festival include yoga, community arts and a photography competition.
Councillor Carl Johnson, Deputy Mayor of North Tyneside, and portfolio holder for culture, events, and tourism, said: “There’s lots for people to see and do throughout the event and it’ll be good to see everyone enjoying themselves either participating in or watching the surfing, paddle boarding or having grabbed tickets to see those special music shows.”
“This event really showcases the range of opportunities to have fun in and around the water in the region and it looks set to grow and grow, drawing visitors from outside the area and supporting businesses.”
North Sea Weekender is organised by North Tyneside Council and supported by North of Tyne Combined Authority.
For further information follow the event on Facebook @northseaWKNDR and Instagram @northseaweekender.
