Things happening include:
Folk Bowling
Theatre Athletics
Gymkhana Football
Archery Golf
Carnival Art
Push-ball Music
Happenings Poetry
Street theatre Rock

Plus anything you do

Festival office is at Spectro Arts Workshop, Station Road, Whitley Bay (tel 22336)

Five times upon a time there was a Whitley Bay Sports Festival, and a coloured multitude of horses cantered gladly among ladies' hats, sand-encrusted ice creams and wee little flags declaring that this was the land of Great Britain, Wales and Scotland. Some of the horses had been designed to hunt foxes - the sadness of the affair - their task was to jump over pieces of wood. All this to the accompaniment of deliciously strapping athletes not only showing their prowess, but proving it before ecstatic mums and girlfriends. They all knew just why they hadn't won. Still, there was always the chance that tenpin bowling might be their true forte, and it's so much more sociable.

From behind the well-drilled ranks of several juvenile jazz bands (that's jazz bands for juveniles), the sleek, finely trained minds of Spectro Arts Workshop appeared. Would they be sponsoring the one hundred and fifty-first whippet in the North British Whippet Racing Championship for the Whitley Bay Sports Festival Challenge Trophy? The cat just didn't have that edge of speed - charm and manoeuvrability was all it could offer.

Sliding firmly but gently towards the Whitley Bay Sports Council, Spectro managed to persuade them that a little honey could be spread on the bread. The slower faction was to be catered for with an exhibition from Northern Printmakers, Print '72, at Spectro itself; photographs shown in local pubs and restaurants, and children's art at the library. Sculpture will appear in public places; inflatables may grow in Whitley Park, or elsewhere even.

Don't forget the sillies! A near ridiculous pushball competition on the beach on Sunday 16 July could well be interrupted by a dragon of no fixed abode, Larkspur Terrace, Jesmond.

Nor the muzak people. We're still trying for an open air pop concert somewhere on Sat 22 July with illicit still, blood lump, badge and sunshine and hope and no rain and won't you please come along. If you miss that, then try coming along a week earlier on Saturday 15; Muther Grumble's promoting something nice in the Priory Theatre at 7.30pm with Maiden Law and Ahimsa. Efficta play modern jazz somewhere on Wed. Peter Finch and Bob Cobbing from Liverpool are on on Thurs at 7.30pm at Whitley Bay Library. Folk artists Pete Scott, Rob Tomlinson, Ian Mills and the JSD band are at the Priory Theatre on Sat 22 July at 7.00pm. If you feel really old, you could join in a Medieval Evening, complete with barbeque, courtesy of the Briardene Townswomens Guild. The Monkseaton Morris Men and the Pasquini Trio. At the Briar Dene Whitley Bay on Mon 17 July 7.30pm on and on ...

Beware of an inflatable whippets jazz band (boom boom) leaping to victory (leap leap) in the 400 metres. Expansion has occurred - will kick off with a carnival through the streets.

Spectro Arts Workshop
Station Road, Whitley Bay - phone 22336

Spectro Arts Workshop is an open workshop up to and including the festival. So you can come along and use our facilities free if you want to do or make anything for the festival. We've got facilities for photo-printing in black and white and colour, screen-printing, sound recording, and access to equipment for making inflatables. Plus tools and studio space.

If you've got ideas and want to do something, make it your festival ...

At present Spectro is a self-governing organisation - that is the people who use the place decide what happens. Fully democratic. No closed meetings.

Spectro functions both as a creative arts centre and as a community arts centre.

Spectro operates a music programme, a visual arts programme and a programme of poetry readings.

In peace time full membership is £2.50 per half year, assoc membership is £1.00 pa.