A clog dancing festival kicked off in tremendous style on Saturday with three amazing displays around a town.
The second annual Clitheroe Clog Fest was enjoyed by many around the town, with performances put on outside the castle, at the market and at Holmes Mill.
Ten teams from across the UK, including the Lancashire Wallopers and Camden Clog from north London, danced along to traditional music as the crowds cheered them on.
Today (Sunday) will also see some of the teams go head-to-head in the Lancashire and Cheshire Clog Dancing Championship.
The winner of the competition will get to lift the prized Hornpipe Belt which is currently held by the Wallopers.
It is expected that Australian clog dancer Lee Knight will also make the 10,000-mile journey to take part in the competition.
Competition dances will take place between 10am and noon and 2pm and 4.15pm, and during breaks in dancing members of the public will be able to find out more about clog dancing from the dancers and judges.
Local man James Westwood, who wandered upon the dancing while it was in the market, said: “It’s certainly different but it’s nice to see heritage like this being preserved and for people to be showing off their talents.”
The Clitheroe Castle Museum is hosting a free-to-enter exhibition until the end of October, ‘Wooden Soles, Lively Souls’, looking at the history of clogs and the tradition of clog dancing.
The festival has been organised by the Oakdene clog dancing team from Rossendale with support from Ribble Valley Council and the castle museum.
Stuart Hirst, chairman of Ribble Valley Council’s community services committee, said: “Clog dancing is a traditional English activity and the Clitheroe Clog Fest is a great opportunity for people to find out more about clogs, their history, how they are made and how clog dancing has developed over the centuries, in one of Lancashire’s most picturesque market towns.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel