A new festival is set to make a splash in the North of Tyne. The first ever North Sea Weekender festival is set to take place in North Tyneside from October 8 to 10, featuring water sports, food and drink pop-ups and some special one-off live music shows.
Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA), it will include the Tynemouth Surf Open, organised by Tynemouth Surf Co, alongside stand-up paddle board activities from CBK Adventures and Northern SUP Racing.
Follow the event on social media – NorthSeaWKNDR on Facebook and @northseaweekender on Instagram. Paddle board activities are free to enter and include an XL SUP Team Challenge, freestyle challenge, and race events. The surf open has categories including Shortboard, Longboard, SUP Surf, Juniors (U16’s), Mini Groms (8 &U) with prize money and merch up for grabs.
Special one-off music concerts at Tynemouth’s Surf Café and Watch House Museum will take place with the first shows announced as Ben Ottewell and Heidi Curtis. Gomez frontman Ben Ottewell plays an intimate show in a truly amazing place, the Watch House Museum in Tynemouth, home to the Volunteer Life Brigade, on Saturday 9 October. Heidi Curtis is a 19 year old singer-songwriter from North Shields. After getting a number of festival shows under her belt in 2021, and supporting Sam Fender at various venues around the UK, she’ll captivate audiences with her powerful vocals and unique style of melody-driven rock, at Tynemouth’s Surf Café on Friday 8 October.
North Sea Weekender
North of Tyne Cabinet Member for Housing Land and Development and Elected Mayor of North Tyneside Council Mayor Norma Redfearn CBE said: “The North Sea Weekender is shaping up to be an amazing event, showcasing the best of the borough’s watersports activities and highlighting once again why so many people love to come and enjoy North Tyneside’s coastline.”
North of Tyne Cabinet Member for Culture Creative and Rural and Leader of Northumberland County Council Cllr Glen Sanderson said: “The Weekender will be a unique opportunity to showcase everything our wonderful coastline has to offer. I’m glad the NTCA has been able to fund what will be a wonderful boost for visitors, businesses, and the community following the Covid pandemic.”
There’ll be food and drink pop-ups and more details of events and activities will be announced soon. North Tyneside has an array of coastal lifestyle businesses and organisations which the festival hopes to highlight throughout the month of October.