Sunderland to stage first ever Urban Fest

A free festival celebrating the sights, style and sports of the streets is set to skate into Sunderland next month (September).

Urban Fest is a two-day celebration of urban culture at Sunniside Gardens from 7 to 8 September, organised by Sunderland BID.

And it will bring some of the UK's top skateboarders, BMX-ers, street artists and dancers to the city in the first event of its kind on Wearside.

Among them will be pro-riders Alex Halford and Owen 'Sox' Watkins who will be giving demos showcasing their skateboarding skills while 3Sixty will be swapping four wheels for two with BMX shows and stunts.

Alongside top-ranking professional BMXer, Jack Clark, a team from King Ramps will be performing demonstrations on the skate ramp and providing awe inspiring adrenaline fuelled shows throughout Saturday and Sunday.

There will be a separate track/workshop area for those wanting to learn how to skate with King Ramps on both days, while 3Sixty will also be performing bicycle stunts and interactive workshops on Sunday.

Street art will also feature at Urban Fest with graffiti workshops and community canvas painting led by AOP Projects who run the Future Walls project in Sunderland and other local artists with live music from a variety of DJs including DJ Specifik and DJ KUB.

Street food stalls will be selling a variety of cuisines, with loaded hotdogs from Dirty Dogs, fresh pizzas from Diego's and burgers from Jam Jar, with more traders to be announced.

And Melonz' Hair Bar will be braiding hair and giving braiding demonstrations, while Port Independent will have a pop-up shop with a selection of independent clothing brands and art from Sunderland based producers.

There will also be a dance off, with dancers from across the North East battling to take home a £100 cash prize and the title of Urban Fest All Styles Champion on Sunday.

"It's going to be a fantastic weekend that really shines a spotlight on street culture," said Sunderland BID chief executive, Sharon Appleby, said "and it's entirely free to attend.

"Everything will be represented, from music and art to dance and street sports and there will be plenty to take part in, to learn and to enjoy."

Dancers wanting to register for the battle need to do so via  sunderlandbid.co.uk/urbanfest/dance-battle-reg  no later than 6 September.

Urban Fest will take place at Sunniside Gardens from 11am to 6pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday. For more information, visit sunderlandbid.co.uk/urbanfest