Time has flown by since we wrote our first Walls Weekly post over 8 weeks ago, we now have less than a week to go until the York Walls Festival 2019 commences! This week, we have been busy delivering our York Walls Festival posters around the city, have you seen one yet?

Holly and Rebecca (Festival Interns)

Today we will be reminding you of some of the exciting activities we have planned for the weekend, we can’t wait to share it with you!

Fun, free, family friendly events:

On Saturday 10th August at the Red Tower, the York Nurturing Community will be hosting a free BBQ event for all to attend. This will be commencing at 3pm, with the Lord Mayor opening the event at 3.30pm. As well as healthy takes on traditional BBQ food, there will be a goat and okra stew cooked and served by a member of the community from Sierra Leone. We will also have a kid’s corner at the event with dress up opportunities, colouring in and toys!

Red Tower

The River Foss Society will be located on Foss Islands Road between 10.30am – 4pm both days, educating the public on the river and its past. They will also be demonstrating how to carry out water tests of the river and showing individuals how to test the toxicity of the river which will show how healthy it is for plants and wildlife. As well as this, there will be activities for children, from examining “wee beasties” under a magnifier to the possibility of winning a prize!

River Foss

At Fishergate Postern Tower on both days, you will be able to see our brand-new archaeological display built in time for the festival. This will hold items found during the December 2018 excavation of the tower foundations which uncovered thousands of years of history, on display for the first time. Using the Sketchfab app on our festival iPad you can see a 3D photograph of the dig which will bring the display alive! As well as this, Fox Lane books will have a stall in the tower with a range of children’s books for sale (including Horrible Histories!).

The fun continues at York Explore with story making activities with Found Fiction, a Make a Tile Workshop and writing activities on the library lawns. Don’t forget to pick up your free explorer trail and activity booklet from our festival information point in Museum Garden’s on your way to York Explore!

Also, there will be a series of walks by Good Organisation’s Gavin Sullivan. This will be a family friendly 60 minute free tour starting in front of York Explore Library at 10.00 & 12.00 on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th of the festival, no booking –just turn up! In addition, Ian Tempest, a Red Tower volunteer, will lead a ‘Red Brick York’ walk. This will leave King’s Manor at 2pm on the Saturday and take approx. 90 minutes to reach Red Tower.

Gavin Sullivan tour

There are still tickets available to see Lizzey Ross and Claire Robertson between 5.30pm – 6.15pm on Sunday 11th at the Red Tower for live music and performance art. This event is free, and you can book your place here via Eventbrite. You don’t want to miss out!

Remember to download our brand-new festival app via the App Store or Google Play before you come to the festival for the chance to take part in quizzes and have a guided virtual tour. Our festival maps and programmes will be available at Fishergate Postern Tower, Red Tower, York Explore, Visit York and at our festival information point throughout the weekend so make sure you get a copy.

Finally, click here to see our ‘What’s On’ video, where Martin, Rebecca and I (Holly) show you where we will be on festival weekend and what you will find at each venue. Finally, keep an ear out tomorrow at 10am on Minster FM where Brian Mullins (the million step man) will be live discussing his role in the York Walls Festival! We look forward to seeing you in less than a week for a weekend of heritage and excitement!

Keep an eye on our social media for more updates in the week leading up to the festival here:

Twitter – @WallsYork
Facebook – York Walls Festival
Instagram – @YorkWallsFestival

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