Bootle Canalside to open its gates for a pop-up event over the Bank Holiday weekend

Bootle Canalside opens its gates from Thursday 26^th to Monday 30th August for a Bank Holiday weekend packed full of mouth-watering food, drinks and a whole host of activities and entertainment.

Entry will be free at Sefton’s newest venue as it welcomes an eclectic mix of local traders, serving from bespoke, fitted shipping containers, which is a nod to Bootle’s docklands history.

Visitors to the event will be able to sample food from around the world, showcasing Sefton’s mix of culinary talent.

Local musicians, groups and artists will descend on Bootle Canalside from Thursday 26^th August, to providing a mix of entertainment and activities for all the family.

Bootle Canalside will be accessible via Washington Parade and will open from 12 noon to 9pm from Thursday 26^th to Monday 30^th August.

It will be the first time the much-anticipated venue will host an event and showcase its potential as a new feature of Bootle’s hospitality and night time economy. The pop-up event is a chance to test the site and gather community feedback from residents, as well as attracting visitors to Bootle from across Sefton and beyond.

It is intended that the lessons learned from this, and other potential events later in the year, will inform design and business planning for the long-term future of the site.

There will be no formal COVID restrictions as per government guidance for an outdoor event of this size, however visitors will be encouraged to be mindful of others, practice good hand hygiene and keep their distance from others where they can.

Details of traders and entertainment will be released in the run up to the Bank Holiday weekend, so watch this space and follow us on social media for the latest updates.

Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council said:

“I am thrilled to see Bootle Canalside opening up for the August Bank Holiday to provide a five, fun-filled days of food, drink and entertainment from a range of Sefton’s talented local traders, artists and entertainers.

“Bootle Canalside is being developed to work for our community and kick-start the regeneration and recovery of one of the country’s towns hardest hit by the COVID pandemic and other issues.

“I cannot wait to see the site bustling with visitors and I hope this is the start of a new chapter of opportunity, regeneration and recovery in Bootle and I hope lots people head down to our latest venue and tell us what they think.”

Following the pop up, work will take place to complete the site based on community feedback. Once completed, Bootle Canalside will include an urban garden, food, drink and leisure outlets and events spaces that adds a new element to Bootle’s local economy. It will bring activity to currently under-used land and will help to stimulate the local economy, transforming the look and feel of the town for residents, businesses and visitors and improving the quality of life for the community.

Bootle Canalside site is one of a number of areas of exciting progress in the town. The development of an Area Action Plan in the coming months will ensure the views of the local communities and businesses are reflected in the plans. Alongside this, work continues on the future of the Strand Shopping Centre, and the Council’s bid for the Government’s has been submitted.

If approved by the Government, the Council’s £14.5million Levelling Up Fund bid will see construction and launch of a new, hi-tech digital and Virtual Reality (VR) venue hosting a unique visitor attraction and providing places for technology enhanced ‘competitive socialising.’

Bootle’s “Flying Theatre” will use a robotic hydraulic platform to create the feeling of flying through the British Isles and a VR Time-Travel Tunnel will take visitors on a journey through the ‘History of Bootle and Liverpool’, including an experience of the Blitz, adding to Bootle’s offer as a visitor destination.