Renowned designer Wayne Hemingway - a driving force behind the Morecambe vintage festival - has spoken to Beyond Radio about this year's event and its future.
The Morecambe-born TV personality and his team will bring the Vintage-by-the-sea event back to town on September 3 and 4.
Ahead of the festival, Wayne spoke to us about:
- What people can expect from this year's event
- His thoughts on the recent festival funding U-turn which saw Morecambe Town Council decide to fund Vintage-by-the-sea in 2022 after originally saying no
- His view on the planned Eden Project North and how that might affect the future of the festival
LISTEN to our interview with Wayne Hemingway in full:
Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
Why should people come to this year's Vintage-by-the-sea?
Wayne said: "As somebody who was born here in Morecambe, it's seeing the Promenade animated with so many happy people, so much music, laughter, chatter, things happening. It reminds me of that excitement of coming to the seaside, and just fun and frivolity.
"What Morecambe has are those views to die for, across the bay. It has the Midland hotel and the event is focussed on all the areas not just around it, but outside it. You get the chance to go into the Winter Gardens, that's where we have the Makers Market. You have stages, dance classes, workshops, you go into (The Platform) for an amazing vintage market. The numbers of classic cars. Cars come from all around the UK. Classic bikes, you can go up and down the prom on classic buses. The music is fantastic, listening to DJs on top of a double decker bus. Street food, whatever your taste in food, it's there. The gifts, the crafts, I could go on.
"We've got this amazing band this time called The Old Time Sailors, a crew of 17 sailors presenting a musical show that takes the audience back in time through sea shanties and singalongs. There's a cinema bus, the BBC's mobile cinema from the 1960s which has been restored and you can watch old footage of Morecambe and other things. You can easily fill two days (at the festival), and it's free!
"Then in the evening there are some things you can pay for, We've got Dave Haslam from The Hacienda and myself DJing in a big top outside the Midland and we've got the Torch Ball at the Midland."
Related Story: Get ready for Vintage Festival return - Beyond Radio
What were your thoughts on the festival funding U-turn:
"Well, the festival wouldn't have happened (without Morecambe Town Council funding)," said Wayne.
"People aren't making money out of this festival. We want stakeholders in Morecambe to make money, but most of us don't take anything out of the festival, it costs us to put the festival on.
"It's important that these free festivals take place, and it's important they take place in places like Morecambe.
"Every year, the return on the small amount of money that's invested in this, for the town, is exponential, it's crazy.
"We do events all around the country. The Morecambe one is done on the smallest, thinnest shoestring, there barely is enough money to put this event on.
"We don't want to make it an event you charge you come into. We don't want to do that and we shouldn't do that, so we've just got to keep trying to find funding and keep proving that funding generates 12, whatever times the amount, into businesses' pockets in Morecambe."
Related Story: Delight as Morecambe festivals awarded funding after town council U-turn - Beyond Radio
Pictured below are Elena Jackson and Lauren Zawadzki from Deco Publique, co-producers of Vintage-by-the-sea, with Morecambe town councillors after funding was granted for the festival in July
Will Vintage-by-the-sea partner with the Eden Project North if it's built in the same central promenade area where the festival now takes place?
"I would imagine so," said Wayne.
"Hemingway Design work with them on other projects around the UK. We've been friends for donkey's years, so we'd find a way to work together.
"But also it doesn't worry me. The Eden Project would be far more important for Morecambe than the vintage festival.
"Vintage-by-the-sea should hopefully continue. And it's not as if Morecambe Promenade is short of space. It would just mean shifting things around a little bit and maybe integrating with Eden. Who knows at this stage? Eden isn't over the line yet, so who knows what's going to happen. There's no threat from it. Zero threat in any way. It can only be positive if it happens."
Wayne also said he invited Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project, to Vintage-by-the-sea a few years ago, and he said "it's one of the reasons why Eden was attracted to that location".
WAYNE HEMINGWAY BIOGRAPHY
Wayne Hemingway MBE was born in Morecambe in 1961.
Wayne and his wife Gerardine set up the famous Red or Dead clothing brand. They now run their own design company, Hemingway Design.
Wayne and Gerardine were both made MBEs in 2006 for services to the design industry.
In 2010 they began running vintage festivals all over the UK, celebrating 20th century popular culture.
The first Vintage-by-the-sea event took place in Morecambe in 2013.
The Hemingway family runs the event alongside Morecambe creative company Deco Publique.
Wayne regularly appears as a design expert and talking head on television shows.
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