This weekend Darlington will be exploding with ingenious ideas and epic engineering plus a large helping of family fun! The Festival of Ingenuity is taking place on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th July, is a celebration of the engineering heritage of the town and features a huge variety of exhibits and interactive activities to excite and engage all the family.
Across both days, the Market Place will play host to stands from some of the big names in Darlington including Cummins Ltd, Modus Seabed Intervention, DeepOcean, Cleveland Bridge and Nifco. In addition, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service will be exhibiting both a modern engine with platform ladder and an antique turntable engine.
With the 200th anniversary of the birth of the railways in Darlington on the horizon, there will be exhibits from the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG) and the Darlington Model Railway Society plus on Saturday both the Head of Steam museum and Hopetown Lane Locomotive Works will be throwing open their doors to the public for a free visit. (Visitors need to collect a free wristband from the Festival on Saturday and a free bus is provided to get between the town and the Head of Steam.)
Recent visitors to Darlington cannot fail to have noticed the new Feethams Leisure Scheme and on Saturday the Podium Level will be bursting with free entertainment and activities for all ages. This family fun area, sponsored by Darlington Building Society and supported by Feethams, will include craft activities, dance and acrobatic performances, sport sessions, live music and street theatre.
The Market Square will also be playing host to two fantastic precision driving displays from Darlington-born Paul Swift. Paul – known for being a British Motorsport Champion and a Top Gear Stunt Driver – will be performing in Vauxhall Corsas provided by driving show sponsor Sherwoods Vauxhall. Catch his performances at 11am and 2pm on Saturday.
Star Radio are proud to be the main media partner for this event.
Event runs 10am-4pm both days. For full information and timetable of events, visit www.festivalofingenuity.co.uk
