Angel Canal Festival Islington, London N1 NEXT FESTIVAL Sunday 6th September 2009 11.00 a.m. to 5 pm, adjoining City Road Lock, Islington Free Admission.
					This annual festival is based around City Road Lock and Basin and along the tow path to Packington Park. There will be a variety of stalls, fun-fair, music, refreshments, boat trips and viewing of Community Boats. In the Basin there is a regatta and a bell-boat race. Boat trips will be available in both directions, going east, and west through the Islington Tunnel to London Canal Museum where passengers can stop off to visit. On the water there will be displays by Islington Boat Club and a Bell Boat race between local community groups.
On the towpath there will be around 70 stalls selling everything from canalware and crafts, books, to refreshments. These give many local and national charities the chance to raise funds.There will be all sorts of music, walks and talks, and the local public houses will be open! Everyone will enjoy attractions such as hawks and owls, bee keepers, and a variety of music. There will also of course be a range of different food stalls.
					Entertainment will include a range of musical performances both beside the lock and around the festival site. There will be a fun-fair, and various other entertainment! On top of this of course there will be a wide range of boats attending, and a regatta in the basin, with bell-boat racing.
As the event is FREE we rely on funding and gifts in kind from many sources including the Community Chest, City Road Basin Limited, The Eric Evans Memorial Trust, The Morris Charitable Trust, the GLA/London Canals Committee, Gratte Brothers Ltd, LBI Regeneration, and Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects.We also have excellent support from BW London, SPCC, the Inland Waterways Association and the London Canal Museum and Islington Council.The Festival is run by un-paid volunteers who put in approximately 1600 hrs a year.   Our aim is to produce an enjoyable day-long Festival celebrating the Regents Canal around the City Road Lock and Basin area promoting the canal as an historic, local, community, environmental and leisure asset for all to enjoy.     Latest News from the ACF Team VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT DAY REPORT, 27 JULY 08, 11am to 5pm We had a wonderfully sunny day for our first Volunteer Recruitment Day on Sunday 27th July on the towpath of the Regent’s Canal, opposite the City Road Basin. Steve set up the red & white gazebo, banners, display boards, parasol, table and chairs beneath the trees to take advantage of the shade.  Once the pictures were on the boards and the flyers, and job information ready, Jim, Beryl (in the angel wings she got for Christmas) and Henrietta accosted passers by with flyers and the offer of a free 10 minute boat trip round the Basin on the ‘Lady A’.  Having completed 6 trips with an estimated total of 60 passengers, Emile and Tanya from Canal & River Cruises left in the ‘Lady A’ at 3pm to fulfil their next booking in Greenford, 5 hrs away.  Sorry as we were to see them go, we were happy to see that Kate, with her Ice Cream Tricycle, had already arrived.  A tasty addition to the ice cold water we were offering from our cool-box. By 5pm we had collected 25 names and contact details.  We even had an offer of some free Street Theatre for the Festival and possibly a free sample of what new band ‘SixNationState’ sound like, before they get really famous. We met some lovely people and had a great day and felt it was well worth the effort.  We will be contacting all 25 within the next two weeks to firm up the commitment, suggesting jobs and hours to suit.  There will be a new issue of our Newsletter too, hopefully with pictures plus, an invitation to the Boaters’ DIY BBQ on Sat 6 Sep, 7pm to 10pm in Graham St Park, alongside the Basin. As well as thanking the 25 new Volunteers, we should like to thank Awards for All for funding the gazebo, banners, etc. also the boat trips and the ice cold water! Beryl (with the wings) Windsor Co-ordinator, ANGEL CANAL > ANGEL GLIDE Great news the somewhat unusual gliding Angel will be back again in 2008-must be seen CLIMBING TOWER   This will be located in Graham St www.the-warehouse.co.uk 'BAND OF ANGELS'    The ACF team would like to thank all the volunteers from all supporting organisations, as well as the essential band of angels, that made the 2007 event again so sucessful-without them there would be no event     Some of the Angels wearing their  T-shirts: They are:- back row: Tony, Sheila, Henry front row: Jessica, Justine & Maxine. Interested parties please contact Beryl Windsor on 0121 244 8439 or 07973 504 212 or beryl@angelcanalfestival.org   The Angel Canal Festival is Organised by the ACF Management Team comprising British Waterways, Islington Boat Club, Islington Narrowboat Association, St. Pancras Cruising Club, London Canal Museum, Friends of Islington Museum, Friends of Regent's Canal, London Borough of Islington. Special thanks to contributors of text and pictures to help build this site, contributors include Text from Martin Sachs of the London Canal Museum Photos from Pauline Lord, British Waterways, INBA and other contributors.