Residents urged to celebrate Spalding’s River Welland at weekend event

An exciting new event is set to celebrate the River Welland — and aims to paint the town in a better light.

Organisers of Spalding Celebrate the River Day, hope the event will open up a ‘realm’ of opportunities for the area and urge people to come out to support it on Sunday, June 8.

Water enthusiasts, families and residents are encouraged to bring along their canoes, paddle boards and kayaks for the occasion.

A flotilla of vessels will set sail from the Welland Yacht Club at 12pm on a parade along the waterway to the Moorings pub.

Jeff Woods, aka Pavanotti, will perform sea shanties and other water-themed songs. The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and Anglian Water are also set to offer their advice and expertise on river safety and more.

Refreshments and food will be on offer at the Mornings pub, sponsored by Sedge Estate Agents.

The event aims to be a spectacle to show off the riverside and paint Spalding in a better light, building on the work of the recent Spalding Reconnected project and the addition of new benches near the South Holland Centre.

Spalding councillor James Le Sage, who is one of the organisers, hopes it can become an annual celebration with room to incorporate other activities such as a raft race and duck race in the future.

He said: “The event is all about showing people how good it could be if we had more traffic on the water – we’re going to prove it is a great amenity and asset of the town and we should be using it more.”

The flotilla will return to the yacht club at about 4pm.

The yacht club will also be having an open day alongside the event, where visitors can try their hand at sailing.