INTERVIEW: 10 years of Vintage by the Sea has provided "£8 million boost" for Morecambe

Organisers of the Morecambe Vintage by the Sea festival say the event has been worth more than £8m to the town's economy ahead of its 10th anniversary this weekend.

One of the vintage team, Lauren Zawadzki, spoke to Beyond Radio before the return to the Promenade of the annual celebration of 20th century culture.

Vintage by the Sea takes place this Saturday and Sunday (September 2 and 3) in and around venues including the Winter Gardens, the Midland Hotel and the Platform.

The festival is co-organised by Morecambe-born designer and TV personality Wayne Hemingway MBE and his family, and Lauren's company Deco Publique, which she co-founded in the town a decade ago with her childhood friend Elena Jackson.

Lauren said the impact the festival has had on local people, visitors and the town over those 10 years has been a "joy".

LISTEN to our interview with Lauren Zawadzki from Vintage by the Sea

"It's a really exciting year for us," she said.

"We were trying to work it out the other day, we think it's somewhere near £8m, that we've brought into the Morecambe economy over the years that we've delivered the vintage festival as a direct result of the festival taking place.

"That's something to be proud of, isn't it?"

Wayne (pictured below, right), his wife Gerardine and son Jack launched the Vintage Festival brand in 2010, putting on events across the UK bringing together music, fashion, design and arts for a celebration of British creativity through the decades.

Then in 2012, the designer met Lauren and Elena when they worked together on the Preston Guild festival. 

"We made the association that we both lived in Morecambe and Wayne was from Morecambe, so that made that instant connection," said Lauren (pictured below with Elena).

"Elena worked out it was going to be the 80th anniversary of the Midland Hotel the following year. So she came up with the idea of why don't we ring Wayne and pitch it to him and tell him that we could do something in Morecambe, get him to come back to his home town and see if we could work with him on co-founding a festival for Morecambe.

"He's always had Morecambe in his heart and he talks about his so fondly, his memories of his mum being here and his childhood. He's been so supportive for us and our business. We really do love working with him.

"We produced a one-day festival mainly in the grounds of the Midland and it was such a success and an amazing thing for us all to achieve. We knew that we could turn that pilot into what it's become now."

The 2013 pilot event duly evolved into a two-day festival, pulling in thousands of people each September, many dressed in vintage clothing, to enjoy the sights and sounds of Morecambe Promenade.

The 10th anniversary event will celebrate the 'Best of the Best' of the festival's artists, events and characters from over the years. 

Expect festival favourites such as pop-up Charleston dance lessons, a vintage fashion parade, DJs spinning the discs aboard a Routemaster bus and street theatre featuring Viv the Spiv and the Jean and Morag tea ladies among others.

There will be everything vintage from a fairground and hair and beauty salon with Mrs Smith Hair Salon, to buses, cars and the Vintage Mobile Cinema screening footage from the Morecambe of yesteryear.

And all eyes will be on the skies when iconic wartime aircraft, the Spitfire, flies across Morecambe Bay on Sunday.

This year, an extra special way to celebrate two anniversaries at once is the Torch Club Ball at The Midland Hotel which marks its 90^th birthday this year.

The hotel also hosts festival afternoon teas accompanied by Mr Melody Man. Both are ticketed events which must be booked by calling the hotel on 01524 428370.

Among the international elements of the festival will be performances by The Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band (pictured below) on Sunday and a chance to catch Dandyism dance - inspired by the gentlemen of the Congo - performed at the Winter Gardens on Saturday and Sunday.

The festival also offers a varied range of family friendly activities including the debut appearance of the Wagon of Dreams with its cargo of mermaids and fantastical sea creatures to keep the young ones amused.

Also new for 2023 is family rave company – The Playhouse Project – providing a daytime rave experience aimed at parents who miss their clubbing days.

Among the free festival workshops is one which provides a souvenir of the 10^th anniversary.

Designer Charlie Kondras has been commissioned to create a special edition poster which visitors can screen print for themselves.

There will also be an opportunity to create personalised badges at a workshop led by Seaside Industries or join artist Ian Halawi to produce a relief printed image inspired by Morecambe and the surrounding area.

Anyone aged 8+ can participate in a Diamond Awl leatherworking session to make a sunglasses holder or card wallet at a cost of £8.  

Local artist Molly Bland will explore design with festivalgoers, creating paper bag hand puppets inspired by Sixties toy designer and illustrator, Fredrun Shapur’s ‘Playsacks.’

While most of the festival is free, there will be plenty of opportunities to spend at the Vintage Marketplace in The Platform and the Makers Market in the Midland Hotel.

And visitors can dance the night away at the festival After Party led by ex Portishead, Andy Smith, in the Little Big Top, on the Saturday. Tickets must be booked in advance and are selling fast.

“This great seaside town's star is rising and HemingwayDesign is proud to be playing a small role in it," said Wayne Hemingway.

"In the 10 years of Vintage by the Sea in my birth town of Morecambe we have witnessed more than 300,000 people enjoying the revelry of the festival, including more than 60,000 people who had never visited the town before, not a spare hotel room for miles around, and a combined spend of over £8 million in the town.”

For more details on this year's Morecambe Vintage by the Sea see here.