What’s on – Mersey River Festival 2017
Please be aware that the information may be out of date.
We have a host of events taking place across Liverpool Waterfront for the Mersey River Festival this year including a variety of music stages, pop-up street theatre, tall ships and children’s activities!
What is on and Where?
There is so much to see and enjoy across the waterfront, on land, on water and in the air! If you want to find out the times and locations of your favourite activities, just take a look at the what’s on below, click on the event you’re interested in and it will provide you with full details.
Alternatively if you would like to see a full what’s on listing per day at the event – click on the day you are interested in below and we have put together a “What’s On” listing for each location along the waterfront with links to individual events, should you want more information. It’s in a listing format so easy to check at a glance, print off or save on your phone!
Downloads:
If you would prefer to download a pdf copy of the What’s on Listing – click the relevant link below.
Music: The Lowdown and Line up
This year, the Mersey River Festival is playing host to the National Armed Forces Day which is taking place on Saturday 24 June. This means we will not be having a main stage on the Pier Head as in previous years – instead, we will have a number of smaller stages located across the waterfront.
These stages include the Ship Stage (on board Tall Ship Kaskelot); the BME Stage (in front of the Cunard Building), Mann Island Stage (in Mann Island Basin, behind the Open Eye Gallery) and the Liverpool Cruise Terminal.
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Tall Ship Kaskelot
albert dock
Fri 23 Jun ‘17 - Sat 24 Jun ‘17Originally built in Denmark in 1948 by renowned shipyard J Ring Andersen at Svenborg to carry supplies to remote coastal settlements in East Greenland, Kaskelot worked during the 1960's as a…
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ThunderCat Racing UK
liverpool waterfront
Sat 24 Jun ‘17ThunderCat Racing in 2004 saw only three countries participating – South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and has now expanded to over 20 countries; having mass appeal to all ages…
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Pelican of London
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Originally built in 1946, her conversion from Arctic trawler to tall ship was completed in 2007 and she now travels thousands of miles each year as a sailing ship for…
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Shtandart Tall Ship
Albert Dock
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The Frigate Shtandart is the exact replica of the man-of-war built by Peter the Great in 1703 in order to defend Saint Petersburg. Often part of maritime festivals in European…
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Food and Drink
Liverpool waterfront
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17If you feel peckish at the Mersey River Festival and Armed Forces Day events there are wide range of food and drinks concessions on site to suite whatever mood you’re…
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The Earl Of Pembroke
albert dock
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Earl of Pembroke offers its decks for you to feel like a Tall Ship sailor of the past while on a voyage of discovery. Why Earl of Pembroke, you may ask?…
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Royal Marines Band of Scotland
Liverpool cruise terminal
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17These versatile and talented musicians play all over Scotland and the North of England with a repertoire of music that embraces popular classics, music from the Big Band era and…
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Display Arena
cruise terminal
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Saturday 24 June: 12:30 British Army – Royal Engineers bridge building demonstration 1:00pm Royal Marines unarmed combat display 1:25pm Sea Cadets – Field Gun display run 1:45pm Royal Air Force…
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Build Your City
mann island
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Find some available land, lay the foundations and build a hospital, a museum, a school, your dream house, a zoo - anything that you think makes a city great. RIBA…
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Wakeboarding
liverpool wake park
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17In 2016 the International Mersey River Festival was blown away by the death defying aerial exploits of some of the best wakeboarders in Europe, battling it out across Liverpool's Salthouse…
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Katumba Bloco Drumming
Salthouse Quay
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Katumba champions diversity and multiculturalism through their louder-than-loud music, movement and visuals. Liverpool’s renowned drumming and movement groups with over 80 drummers-and counting. Katumba champions diversity and multiculturalism through our louder-than-loud music,…
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Army Village
Princes parade
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17There are field gun runs, an Apache display team, paintballing and interactive demonstrations to show the wide scope of the British Army and inform, inspire and entertain the whole family.…
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Liverpool Irish Festival: Ship Stage Takeover
Kaskelot
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Showcasing a variety of Liverpool, Liverpool Irish, Irish and Celtic inspired musicians, instruments and songs this medley of acts present work spanning centuries of music, including folk, shanty, Trad and…
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Liverpool Model Boat Club and Friends
liverpool cruise terminal
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Boats of all shapes and sizes, naval vessels from different eras, liners and tugs are all on display as well as a variety of different working vessels including fishing boats,…
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Absolute Opera Presents A Proms Celebration.
Canada Blvd
Sat 24 Jun ‘17Sing-a-long to White Cliffs of Dover, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, Rule Britannia and much more. This performance also features acclaimed Soprano Stephanie Guidera, who joins Absolute Opera for…
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Monsters of the deep
Merseyside maritime museum
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Drop in to this hands-on workshop to create your very own scary sea monster mask or fish hat.…
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Little Liverpool
museum of liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The Little Liverpool gallery is a hands-on fantasy world for children under the age of six to play and learn. Inside the gallery our youngest visitors can create their own…
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Six knot challenge
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Take on the six knot challenge with our expert knot-tyer, Dave Walker. Performance Times: Sunday 25 June: Throughout the day…
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Liverpool Beat Poets Talk
Museum of Liverpool
Sun 11 Jun ‘17 - Sun 20 Aug ‘17A talk focusing on the Liverpool Beat Poets in the Wondrous Place gallery. Performance Times: Sunday 25 June: 3.00pm Then on the following Sundays at 3.00pm on the following dates:…
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Armed Forces crafternoon
museum of liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17Get crafty and make something fabulous to take home with you, at this special crafternoon for Armed Forces Day.…
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Edmund Gardner tour
museum of liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17See behind the scenes on the ship from the wheelhouse to the engine room, which was transformed into a dazzle ship in 2014. Please note that the ship has uneven…
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Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story
merseyside maritime museum
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Discover the real life stories of those who sailed on Titanic, in their own words. Featuring film footage, images, costumes and interactive touch screens, the optimism and tragedy of Titanic…
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Lusitania: life, loss, legacy
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17This exhibition is situated on the first floor of the Museum, created to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Lusitania, on 7 May 2015. As well as the…
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RAF Village
Princes Parade
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17On the Pier Head is the unique opportunity for you to discover some of the RAF’s most impressive kit and equipment. You can get up close to the impressive Chinook,…
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African Empires
international slavery museum
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Find out more about amazing civilisations in West Africa throughout history and create a crown like Mali's Mansa Musa or your own beautiful Benin Bronze, in this free family activity…
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Hands on with the First World War
museum of liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17Explore the extensive First World War handling collection with the Education team at Museum of Liverpool. Get hands on with real and replica items from the First World War. Find out what life…
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Brocklebank tour
mersey maritime museum
Wed 24 May ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Join the crew of the tug, Brocklebank, for a behind the scenes look on this fascinating ship, including the wheelhouse, engine room and mess room.…
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Liverpool Community Choir at Mersey River Festival
Mann Island liverpool
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Led by Ian Davidson, hear some examples from our new repertoire of contemporary pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries, from Broadway and beyond... We became an independent community choir…
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Cut Throat Barber
Liverpool Waterfront
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Meet Cuthroat the barber as he walks about offering haircuts or even juggling three sharp looking knives for your entertainment. Have him blow bubbles for you, meet his parrot Polly…
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NAAFI Break
museum of liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17Join us on Armed Forces Day for a reminiscence session based around service in the Armed Forces. Share your memories in a relaxed environment using our reminiscence tools and enjoy…
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Martin Mor
24130 Mann Island
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Kids! Do you need somewhere to take your adults without them getting bored and going in a huff? Bring them to Funny Stuff for Happy People were the adults can…
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Navy Village
Mann island
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17You can go on board to explore the impressive vessel and experience the inner workings of this magnificent ship that will be a remarkable sight on Liverpool’s waterfront. The Navy…
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Aurin Girls’ Choir
Salthouse Quay
Sun 25 Jun ‘17The Aurin Girls' Choir was founded in September 1998 from the girls over 14 years of the Miraculum Children’s Choir of the Kodály School. The founder and director of the…
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The Daniel Adamson
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The Danny, as its affectionately known, was saved from being scrapped by a team of volunteers and with the support of The Heritage Lottery Fund. The ship was restored at…
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Vintage Cinema
mann island
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Their original purpose was to provide engineering training as part of Harold Wilson's White Head of Technology. This Cinema is now called 'Audrey' and these days she tours around the country…
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Choral Pavilion
24130 Mann Island
Sat 25 Jun ‘16Led by Simply Singing, the choir often credit HM The Queen for their large and ever growing numbers since their performance for her and Prince Philip in 2011. Choral…
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Urban Canvas Pavement Art
mann island
Sun 25 Jun ‘17In cities just like Liverpool around the world there is a long tradition of decorating the pavement with colourful chalks and pastels which dates back to the 16th century! Today,…
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Land Girls
Pier Head
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Meet Vera and Lynn, the very British cockney girls ‘doing their bit’ to win the war, dispensing good cheer and the Dunkirk community spirit. With old time sing alongs, ration…
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Sea Sphere
Salthouse Quay
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Released from the sea only long enough to bring smiles to the faces lucky enough to look upon hers, this curious mermaid comes complete with dancing seaweed and other creatures…
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Arts & Crafts Worksops
the cooperage
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17These fun arts and crafts workshops are a unique opportunity for children to design and create their own original artwork, with expert advice and guidance on hand from the team.…
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Jolly Boat
mann island basin
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Jolly Boat is a pirate-themed comedy folk-rock duo who perform original comedy songs and are best-known for the medley of pirate parodies they perform. Described as "funny, skilled musical comedy",…
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The Norwegian Seamen Choir
mann island basin
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The choir members were important co-players during the annual Christmas evening program "Vi går ombord" with the popular anchor-man Erik Bye, broadcasted live on national radio and television for decades…
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Sing Me Merseyside
mann island basin
Sun 25 Jun ‘17The infamous SingMe Singing Club Choir consists of 8 groups that meet weekly in different venues and currently consists of over 300 members. SingMe Merseyside has a strong belief in…
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The World’s Smallest Comedy Club
Mann island
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Come and witness a full scale comedy show with laughs, lights and a full sound system. The catch? There's only 4 seats and each show lasts 3 minutes! We've booked some…
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Yakovlev Arial Display
Sun 25 Jun ‘17Look to the skies over the waterfront for an astounding aerial acrobatic display from the UK's premier display team. The Yakovlev team have earned a reputation for excellence over the…
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The Funnels
Princes Parade liverpool
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The playful Funnels are characters in their own right and stand out in a crowd whether they are standing still, dancing, tooting their horns or playing follow the leader they…
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Soldiery Exhibition
The Athenaeum Church Alley
Sat 24 Jun ‘17Meet Rory Lewis Photographer, enjoy a reception and private view of the project from 7.00pm - 9.00pm. Please note, formal lounge suit applies and tickets must be purchased for this…
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Northern Boat Show
albert dock liverpool
Fri 23 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17The Northern Boat Show is a festival of boating at the heart of the International Mersey River Festival. This three-day boat show will showcase world class sailing boats, power boats…
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Floral Pavilion Theatre at Mersey River Festival
Floral Pavillion Centre
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17Pirate Themed balloonatic artists giving out balloon swords to children in and around the Floral Pavilion. Jimmy Juggle in and around the venue. Music on the panoramic lounge on Saturday…
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Mersey River Festival at Birkenhead
Woodse Event Space
Sat 24 Jun ‘17 - Sun 25 Jun ‘17There are numerous things happening in Birkenhead, including performances from Fishermen on Stilts, face painting, street food and the Boogie WonderVan will be there. Amorini Antiques Centre are open…