The popular event, now in its 11th year, welcomed visitors dressed in fashions from the 20s to the 90s to strut their stuff on the iconic Best In Show catwalk, take a bike ride along the promenade on their vintage cycles or learn to dance in the new Boogie Ballroom.
“We were absolutely thrilled to see so many thousands and thousands of people in Morecambe this weekend,” said Elena Jackson, Festival Organiser.
The Vintage Marketplace at The Platform was a huge attraction whilst local and regional makers set up shop in The Midland.
Visitors enjoyed a stunning display of perfectly preserved classic cars outside The Midland Hotel whilst Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust’s vintage bus rides from Heysham to Bare proved a hit.
New for 2024 was an 80s-inspired creative space, as visitors joined UK Mobile Studio Let’s Make Art to create jackets with designs inspired by retro neon and geometric patterns, whilst getting into the groove with some 80s tunes at the Silent Disco.
To celebrate the reopening of the now vintage skatepark, Jwllrs x kitchenUNIT presented The Tar Pit at Morecambe Skatepark where they hosted learn to skate workshops, deck shaping workshops, screen printing, yoga for skaters, mural paintings, music from the local skate community and popular skate jam on Sunday afternoon.
Mirador and Lancaster University Library presented Jukebox, a nostalgic installation of sound and memory exploring the place jukeboxes hold in local cultural history, whilst Good Things Collective + Friends curated The People’s Bandstand – a joyful celebration of music, crafts and good old-fashioned fun including the Regeneration Game and the Big Gay Sing Along as part of Sunday’s The End of the Pier Variety Show.
Music and performance was also a weekend highlight with a choreographed performance from Bird Rave, Leyland Band at the historic Morecambe Winter Gardens, DJs playing an eclectic mix of Northern Soul, Funk and Jazz, and the Melodrome Stage showcasing a line-up of bands while DJ Paulette headlined an uplifting After Party on Saturday night.
The whole festival programme was complemented by Fringe activity up and down the Promenade from packed events at The Alhambra Theatre to a Mod Cafe at Shore Thing, while so many more Morecambe venues programmed content to capture the crowds.
Elena added: “Vintage by the Sea really is a shared celebration of this place and we’d like to thank each and every person who had a role in making the event happen and who joined as a visitor over the weekend.”
The organisers of this fantastic festival would love to receive any feedback in order to make future festivals even bigger and better – and you could even have the chance to win £100 worth of shopping vouchers! Simply fill in the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/VBTS24 to let them know your favourite things from the weekend.
