View gallery Sunday events at Stockton International Riverside Festival, SIRF 2014
View gallery Spectacular from start to finish, the 27th SIRF festival was definitely one to remember.
The Stockton International Riverside Festival, known as SIRF, started on Thursday night with Safe House by Metro Boulot Dodo, a mix of aerial performance and quick frame animations at the Trinity Green stage.
The popular carnival parade was watched by thousands of people lining Stockton High Street on Saturday and included a smoking volcano and a giant K9 squirting water.
The largest community carnival event in the North-east brought the town centre to life with colourful costumes and samba drums.
This year’s theme was Voyages of Discovery inspired by adventures, explorations and inventions.
Debbie Lake, 39, from Roseworth, Stockton, watched the carnival weave through the town centre with her son, Jake Turner, seven, who was sporting a red mohican hairstyle especially for the SIRF.
“We have to come to support our school, Rosebrook Primary in Roseworth,” said Debbie, a teaching assistant.
“We were down at the Stockton Weekender last week, we love the music.
“We come every year to see the parade. We think it’s awesome.”
Dhidar Singh, 32, and his wife, Sandeep Saur, 30, from Thornaby, and their children, Sukhraj, eight, and Yuvraj, three, stumbled upon the parade as they arrived at the town centre to do some shopping.
“We didn’t realise it was on but we love it, it’s really nice to see it,” said Dhidar.
Zach and Charlie March, aged three and two, had some of the best views up on mum Emma and dad Paul’s shoulders.
“It’s the first time we’ve been,” said Paul, 39, from Ingleby Barwick.
“The boys have really enjoyed it,” said Emma.
The parade was one of the highlights of the free four-day bonanza which also included the entertaining Whose Hair Dares from Spanish artistic hairdressers and street theatre performers, Osadia.
They set up their unique hair salon in the street and styled willing participants’ hair into weird and wonderful sculptured coiffures.
Julie Kosaros, from Stockton, and her daughter Charlotte had theirs done.
“It took about 25 minutes to do it,” said Julie. “We’ve been to everything at SIRF, we’ve really enjoyed it as a family.”
SIRF14 also included acrobatic performances; a labyrinth of transparent doors and windows; a surprising bus shelter; Afro-Caribbean and Latin music; an Imaginarium; and much more.
The festival will close with an unmissable finale of Les Tambours de la Muerte on Sunday night. Stockton’s High Street and Riverside will be brought to life with dancing skeletons, giant puppets, music, fabulous costumes and stunning pyrotechnics - all inspired by Mexico’s colourful ‘Day of the Dead’ festivities.
