Grimsby Creates Noise festival to make town’s voices heard this weekend

A new free family festival designed to celebrate the town’s creativity, culture and heritage, and make Grimsby’s voices heard, will take place this Saturday.

Grimsby Creates Noise will take place in public spaces outdoors on March 19, with highlights including hip-hop music, dance, parkour and art workshops across the town centre – view the full event line-up here.

The event will be concluded with a UK premiere dance performance of Grimsby’s People Power Partnership with European partners Pan Optikum, run by Grimsby Creates and Magna Vitae.

Sound Catchers – live percussion, dance and cutting edge creative and digital technologies come together to create a fun show that is different every time. | Photo: NELC

Highlights from Saturday’s line-up include:

• Drop-in parkour workshops with Team Reality for ages four and upward in St James’ Square
• Grimsby Creates Doodles illustration workshops with Our Big Picture in St James’ Square
• An exhibition from Creative Connections and a VR dance experience in Freshney Place shopping centre
• Sound Catchers will be walking around capturing sounds and making noise
• Roll Play – a thrilling performance by Simple Cypher in St James’ Square
• Percussion performances in Abbeygate shopping centre and St James’ Square
• An interactive performance, Bell Orchestra, by Beautiful Creatures Theatre in St James Square
• Find Your Funny – an introduction to stand-up comedy for age 18-plus in St James’ Hotel
• Mirror Divas popping up where you least expect them
• A day-long Teenage Market in Top Town Market

Book free tickets for workshops and the performance by People Power Partnership and Pan Optikum online here.

Learn about designing and cutting stencils to create fun stencil art using chalk spray. | Photo: NELC

Producer Chelsey Everatt said: “Grimsby Creates Noise is a jam-packed day-long festival that celebrates the voices of the people of Grimsby and best of all, it’s completely free, takes place outdoors and in public spaces, and is accessible to everyone.”

She added: “Free events and workshops range from the UK premiere of Grimsby’s People Power Partnership and Pan Optikum’s visually-stunning dance performance including talented young Grimsby dancers; to a Noise Academy collaboration, which also gives Grimsby’s young people a chance to shine.

“In this collaboration, North East Lincolnshire Council’s Music Hub, Hull’s Beats Bus and almost 200 school pupils from five Grimsby primary schools have been learning new skills in street dance, beatboxing, DJing, rapping and lyric writing especially for the event.”

Pupils aged between nine and 11-years-old from Littlecoates Primary Academy, Willows Academy, William Barcroft Junior School, Waltham Leas Primary Academy and St Mary’s Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy will all be taking part.

Mirror Divas will be popping up where you least expect them. | Photo: NELC

Grimsby Creates Noise is part of the wider Grimsby Creates programme run by North East Lincolnshire Council.

It is a £5.3 million three-year creative development programme that celebrates the town’s culture, creativity and heritage.  It is funded by the DCMS and administered by Arts Council England.

Councillor Callum Procter, Portfolio Holder with responsibilities for tourism and economic growth at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “Here we see Grimsby creating noise for all the right reasons. It is fantastic to see so many people of all ages getting involved and importantly being inspired by the work of Grimsby Creates.

“There is a cultural scene across North East Lincolnshire now that is growing in front of our eyes and we can look forward to so much more as the year progresses. From Festivals, to projections on the sides of buildings and ‘Edible Grimsby’, there is something for everyone.”