Following on from the success of City of York Council's first ever Festival of the Rivers, the programme for this year's event promises to be even bigger and better!

Some of the favourites from last year’s programme will return, including a visit by the hugely popular Syntan Barge. There will also be a canoe race and a chance to watch the thrilling exploits of experienced canoeists on the ramp in Foss Basin.

However, there are also some exciting new additions to the programme, including a sponsored duck race, an artists fair and the launch of York’s newly-acquired Viking boats.

Highlights include:

Sunday 1 July - A day of special events in Rowntree Park
This will feature York’s first sponsored duck race in aid of Martin House Children's Hospice at 2pm, when 5,000 yellow rubber ducks will be dropped into the Ouse at Millennium Bridge. To sponsor a duck, visit:  www.martinhouse.org.uk or call 01904 554253 for an application form. Groups from York’s Performing Arts Centres will be displaying their talents from 11am until 4pm, with a variety of  dance, drama and musical performances.

Saturday 7 July - An Artists Fair at Tower Gardens
From 10am until 4pm, around 30 community artists will showcase their work at Tower Gardens. A range of ceramics, painting, photography and sculpture will be on sale, with the proceeds going to WaterAid.

Sunday 8 July - Ahoy pirates! 
The charity Lollipop is hosting a fantastic ‘pirate party in the park’ fundraising event in Rowntree Park from 1pm to 5pm. This will be a great family day out and will provide an opportunity to make a ship to enter into a model pirate ship regatta.  Other attractions include a bouncy castle, a treasure hunt, face-painting, badge-making, a raffle and a toy tombola.  There will be prizes for the best pirate fancy dress outfit and the fastest boat in each race!  There will also be a special appearance by the famous  'Sheilas’ from the car insurance advertisement.

To mark York’s Viking past, Jorvik Afloat will launch two newly-acquired 40-foot long ships with space for 14 oarsmen. This is part of a day of events taking place at Kings Staithe from 10am until 6pm, which includes Viking stalls, a hot roast, live music and competitions. Thea Jacob (lyric soprano) and David Hammond (accompanist) will be performing in St Martin Le Grand and on the Syntan barge during the festival, and tickets for these performances can be obtained by calling 01904 554253.

Sunday 15 July - The festival will close with ‘boat of light’, a poignant event in which memory candles will be sent floating down the Ouse.

Liz Topi, the council's events officer, said: "York is blessed with its river network; the Ouse and Foss go through the heart of our city and played a very important part in its history.  Without them we would not have our Viking and Roman connections, which attract thousands of tourists to York every year.

"The Festival of Rivers offers something for everyone - from cruises to regattas; fishing to canoeing; pirates to parties; lectures to plays; and shanties to opera - and all of the events use rivers as a location or theme."

The Festival of the Rivers takes place between 23 June and 15 July, and full details of the programme can be downloaded from www.yorkfestivals.com

Alternatively, for more information contact the council's arts and culture team on 01904 554660.