AFTER a two-year absence, Quayside Festival is back.
Now in its 14th year, Quayside Festival came about to replace the much-missed Trawler Race Day, and has won several awards since it started in 2008.
This is what you need to know about the event.
What is Quayside Festival?
The festival will take place on Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29 on Custom House Quay.
Hosted by The Rendezvous nightclub, there will be a large stage overlooking the harbour with bands and a big screen.
If you fancy a drink and some food, there will be plenty of outdoor bars and food stalls to try out.
The event is free, but will operate at a limited capacity to reduce crowd sizes.
What acts are performing?
The event will be headlined by star of ITV's The Voice, Lauren Bannon AKA Lloren.
Other acts to grace the outdoor stage include The Leggomen, Chief Lazarus, The Brotherhood, Stereoironics, Skimmity Hitchers, Orange Street, The Undecided, Mad4Animals and King Hammond Band.
Will it be Covid safe?
A number of Covid restrictions have been placed on the event in a bid to make it safe and secure for attendees.
The outside area will be restricted to 500 people in outside area to avoid large crowds due to the number of visitors in the town and harbour pedestrianisation.
There will also be a new layout of entry points in a bid to ‘control the numbers in and out’, organisers say.
Face masks can be worn outside if people wish to feel more comfortable.
What roads will be closed?
From 7am on Saturday, August 28 until 11.59pm on Sunday, August 29 part of Custom House Quay on the north side of the harbour will be closed to traffic for the Quayside Music Festival.
The alternative routes for through traffic from the west will be via Commercial Road, Lower St Alban Street and St. Thomas Street to St. Edmund Street and from the east via St. Mary Street, St. Edmund Street and Lower St. Edmund Street to Commercial Road.
During the closure period, a prohibition of driving order will be lifted on Lower St Alban Street (from its junction with St Nicholas Street (opposite Tesco Metro) while six parking bays at Zone F on Custom House Quay opposite the Rendezvous will be taken out of use.
Pedestrian access to the area between ‘The Rendezvous’ and St. Mary Street on Custom House Quay will be restricted.
Pedestrian diversion routes are: For Town Bridge, St Marys Street - St Edmund Street.
For Commercial Road, St Marys Street - St Edmund Street - Lower St Edmund Street.
Where can I park?
All town centre car parks will be open during the weekend.
With expected high numbers of visitors and tourists in Weymouth over the weekend, you will have to be prepared for limited space in car parks.
The park and ride service from Mount Pleasant Park & Ride, near Sainsbury's, will be open for use.
Plea to ‘look out for yourselves and each other’ from police
During the next two weeks, thousands of people are expected to visit Dorset to enjoy the late August bank holiday weekend and attend big events, such as the Bournemouth 7s rugby event, Quayside music festival in Weymouth and Bournemouth Air Festival.
The force’s summer policing operation was launched in May and aims to keep visitors and residents safe during the summer by carrying out high-visibility patrols and introducing measures to prevent crime occurring in the first place.
Dorset Police’s summer policing gold commander Chief Superintendent Mark Callaghan said: “To date this summer has been very busy and we are continuing to work closely with our partner agencies to help keep people safe.
“Over the coming weeks we have some key events taking place and I am reminding people to make sure they look out for themselves and each other.
“Representatives from Dorset Police, BCP Council and Dorset Council, as well as the RNLI and fire service are all out there along our beaches and in our communities and can be approached by anyone who needs help or is worried about someone else.
“Our Force, as well as other emergency service colleagues, have already experienced high levels of demand this year with more people choosing to enjoy staycations in Dorset.
“We continue to ask visitors and residents to help us by using our online channels when reporting a non-emergency, rather than calling 101. Whichever way you contact us, your enquiry will be dealt with by a member of staff.”
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