page_title: Hessle
section_title: Hessle Feast
hierarchical_section_title: Hessle / Hessle Feast
caption_attribution_description: English: Hessle Feast main stage 2006, Battle of the Bands, Hessle Square, Hessle, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
context_page_description: Hessle is a town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, five miles west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. Geographically it is part of a larger urban area consisting of the city of Kingston upon Hull, the town of Hessle and a number of other villages but is not part of the city. It is on the north bank of the Humber Estuary where the Humber Bridge crosses.
  According to the 2011 UK census, Hessle parish had a population of 15,000, an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 14,767.
context_section_description: Earliest found records of the Hessle Feast date from the 1800s. These have it as an annual event around Whitsuntide (May). A time of enjoyment, when the people of the parish would gather to celebrate the coming year.
  From articles in 1808 and 1836, it is clear that the feast had become a major event bringing in people from neighbouring towns and villages. With much excitement, racing, noise and jubilee. As ever the youth made it their own. Even in the earliest reports, there are churchwardens concerns over noisy and drunken behaviour "particularly of the young men of Hull" who visited the parish.
  Resurrected around 15 years ago, after many years of absence, the feast has again become an event of enjoyment and embraced by the whole community of Hessle.
  Previous feasts include one which occurred in July 2006, which succeeded in attracting over 5,000 local residents and visitors to the area and was an entertaining day of charitable money raising, family fun and live music. The event hosted many activities such as a "Battle of the Bands" which took place on the main stage in the Square, a "Buskathon" centred down Prestongate, and local bands centred on a smaller stage on the Weir. There was also a boat race around the streets of Hessle, which was eventually won by army cadets carrying an inflatable float. The event was partly-funded and majorly sponsored by Kingston Communications and Yorkshire Water – companies working in the area at the time.
  Hessle Feast returned, after a three-year absence due to the 2007 United Kingdom floods, in 2009. It was officially opened by the then Home Secretary, Hull West and Hessle MP, Alan Johnson, and the Mayor of Hessle, Frank Kitchen, at 1 p.m.
  The feast day in 2009 entertained crowds over a larger area than previous feasts, to encourage more business to the less immediate areas of Hessle. In the Square, the main stage starred the "Hessle's Got Talent" final and the "Crave and Serenity Fashion Show". The Square's stage was compared by KCFM DJ Dave Hudson. Prestongate had further stalls and barbecues. The Weir also had a stage with live music played all afternoon. On the feast day, a world record for "poppadom stacking" was broken on the Weir by the Indian takeaway Jolsha, officiated by the local MP Alan Johnson. Following on from the Weir is Tower Hill Park, which was mainly occupied by the army who had assault courses and climbing walls, which, as in previous years, focused on activities for the younger generations. The feast also reached the area near the library, which held a third stage with live local bands chosen by The Hase pub. The boat race was won by the youth sports team Norland Sharks, who were the fastest at running around Hessle carrying an inflatable boat. The Hessle Feast 2009 Committee was an independent body of unpaid volunteers that organised the event in the pubs of Hessle. The event was majorly sponsored by KCFM and Hull Colour Pages, with additional funding from the local town council.
  The 2012 Hessle Feast was timed to take place on the Sunday of the weekend of celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in June 2012. The following day, a waterborne procession of sailing and powered craft departed from Hessle and proceeded around the River Humber.
caption: Hessle Feast in July 2006
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