What's "On" in the UK?
With everything that goes on in Britain, you won't want to miss one minute of the fun! Here's just a sample of some of the fun, exciting and sometimes quirky events going on in the UK in the next few months!
FEBRUARY
ST. IVES FEAST / HURLING THE SILVER BALL
When: 9 February 2009
Where: St. Ives, Cornwall, England
Time: 10am - 5pm
Web: http://www.visitcornwall.com/site/whats-on/st-ives-feast-hurling-the-silver-ball-p505483
The hurling of the silver ball is a very old tradition in St Ives and is held on Feast Monday every February. At 10.30am on Feast Monday the silver ball is thrown from the wall of the Parish Church by the Mayor. Once the ball is caught by a member of the crowd below, it is passed from one to another on the beaches and streets of St Ives. Whoever is in possession of the ball when the clock strikes noon takes it to the Mayor at the Guildhall and receives the traditional reward of five shillings.
SLAITHWAITE MOONRAKING FESTIVAL OF LANTERNS AND LEGENDS
When: 14 to 21 February 2009
Where: Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England
Time: Day long event
Web: http://www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org/
A week of fun and story telling starting with the opening "dance" on 14th February. Lantern and story telling workshops take place. The event’s street procession and theatre take place on 21st February 2009. The Moonraking Festival is based on a village tale about two 19th century smugglers who were collecting barrels of the illegal ‘moonshine’ drink from the canal. The smugglers hid the barrels and told the police they were trying to rake the moon’s reflection out of the canal. Thinking they were fools, the police let the smugglers go and the ‘moonraking’ legend was born. The highlight of the festival is a long procession of 1500 villagers with some 200 bearing colourful lanterns made of willow sticks and tissue paper. The lanterns vary from year to year, depending on the theme of the festival, and can be shaped like magic lamps, glass slippers, fairies, pumpkin carriages and castles. The lanterns are made in the week preceding the procession.
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