Sharpness Docks reverberated to the sounds of sea shanties on Saturday, part of the Sharpness 150 celebrations.
Held at Sharpness Sports and Social Club, the first ever Sharpness Sea Shanty Festival featured tales of the sea from the Severn Whalers, Friggit, Gloucester Diamonds, Tawny Shantymen, with the evening concluding with a performance by the Kilkenny Bay Steamers, enjoyed by a large audience on a warm and sunny afternoon.
The event was part of the year-long Sharpness 150 commemorations which celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of Sharpness New Dock in November 1874. The Sharpness 150 Team is also developing an online heritage resource to preserve generations of Sharpness stories as a legacy for all to experience and enjoy.
Bryan Whitfield, one of the organisers, told Stroud Times: “We had a great time, and it seemed like the audience did too. We think that over the six and half hours or so of the event, we had 200 – 250 people attending. A surprising number stayed on till the very end, by which time it was dark and turning chilly.
“Our last Sharpness 150 event for this year will be the Sharpness 150 Finale on Saturday, 26th October.
“We may stage an occasional event next year, such as helping the community stage their own Sea Shanty Festival as there’s clearly a demand, but we’ll most be focused on continuing the legacy of our Sharpness 150 programme and making it accessible to a wider public.”
