Festival to celebrate its 20th anniversary

Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) is widely recognised as helping to raise the profile of street theatre and outdoor performance across the country.

SIRF 2006 has this year been crowned best cultural event in the North-East at the inaugural Journal Culture Awards, and was also named best event in Tees Valley with the Fringe Festival runner-up.

This year's festival will take over the streets of Stockton town centre from Wednesday to Sunday, August 1 to 5, profiling the best in outdoor theatre, street entertainment, circus and dance.

SIRF will be complemented by the Fringe Festival, which will this year see The Ordinary Boys, Badly Drawn Boy and Echo and the Bunnymen play at the Riverside, as well as an impressive line-up of local bands.

Frank Wilson, SIRF's artistic director, said: "It has been a long journey since the festival started 20 years ago and SIRF has played its part in raising the profile of street arts and outdoor theatre in the UK.

"SIRF has always been a fantastic vehicle for promoting international work and this year we will welcome performers from France, Germany, Belgium and Argentina and Spain. We will also be showcasing some of the UK's leading street arts companies."

The festival gets under way with Irish aerial company Fidget Feet and their performance Wired and Free, in Stockton High Street.

Nutkhut's Bollywood Steps takes centre stage in the High Street from Thursday through to Sunday, when dancers in colourful costumes will tell the tale of boy meets girl, courtship and marriage, using spectacular water and lighting effects and pyrotechnics.

However, the hugely popular carnival, called All Aboard - Don't Miss the Train - will be the biggest ever this year with 1,000 participants taking part.

The carnival starts at noon on Saturday, August 4 and will make its way along the High Street to Trinity Gardens.

The festival will close with a fireworks display for the finale on Sunday, August 5, from 10pm.