Mercia celebrates five years
MERCIA Marina is holding its biggest annual family festival this weekend to coincide with its 5th anniversary celebrations.
The Trent & Mersey Canal marina, which opened in September 2008, is expecting thousands of visitors on Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8th of September to join in the anniversary fun.
Attractions
The festival will include dozens of food and craft stalls, fun fair rides for children, live music, real ales, and fireworks on the Saturday evening, as well as some additional attractions and some superb prize winning opportunities. The photograph shows the marina in 2008.
A star prize of a five days holiday in one of the marina's luxury waterside lodges is up for grabs—quite literally—in a Crystal Maze-style game where participants try to grab tokens which are flying inside an inflatable dome.
Other prizes
Many other prizes are also on offer to mark the marina's 5th anniversary. Meanwhile, visitors will be able to venture onto the marina's 24 acres lake in one of the giant swan pedalos at the event, or take a short journey along the canal to the nearby village of Willington in the marina's trip boat, The Belle. The photograph shows part of the marina taken from outside the Willow Tree coffee bar during August.
Admission to the festival is free for all, with parking available at a daily cost of just £2 in the adjacent fields, with General Manager Robert Neff, explaining:
"Our annual festival is always extremely popular, with boaters, local villagers and visitors from much further afield. This year will be extra-special, so we expect to be welcoming even more people than normal.
"Five years is a major milestone for us, particularly when you think of the state of the general economy over that period.
"But we've been extremely successful since we opened; we've created a thriving business and a surprisingly beautiful landscape just a stone's throw from Derby and some major transport links. We'd love to use this festival weekend and our five years anniversary to show people what a fabulous marina we've built."
The festival will be open from noon until 10pm on Saturday, and from noon until 6pm on Sunday.
Bigger than normal
Mercia Marina's popular annual fireworks display on Saturday evening will be an even bigger occasion than normal, and will be preceded by a special cake-cutting ceremony to mark the anniversary.
Live music during the weekend will include Derby and Burton rock covers band Tick Tick Boom, Derby-based acoustic duo Brookfield, barbershop group Derby A Cappella Chorus and singer/guitarist John Rockcliffe.