Hundreds of people descended on a seaside resort on the first day of a three-day sailor’s festival.
People came from across Canada and the U.S. to enjoy the non-profit event in Harwich, Essex, on Friday, festival chairman Mick Verrier said.
“We are the Harwich International Shanty Festival and we are doing our best to live up to the name,” he told BBC News outside a packed Alma Inn, one of the live music venues.
By the end of the weekend, more than 40 traditional shanty acts will have performed in the city.
“Sea shanties are work songs of the sea from about a hundred years ago and they have been in revival over the last twenty years as part of the folk revival,” Mr Verrier explains.
The annual event was first held in 2006 and Mr Verrier, who has lived in the town for 20 years, said this year was the biggest event yet.
It is organized by a committee of 10 people who work all year round, supported by up to 60 volunteers, with planning for the next edition already underway.
Follow Essex news on BBC sounds, Facebook, Instagram And X.
More about this story
Related Internet Links
