By Kiran Bedder-Patel

The public come out in numbers for the Riverside festival

The Riverside festival returned to Leicester this weekend, with a range of food stalls, live bands and boat trips for the whole family to enjoy.

The free two-day festival which has proved a success for the past 20 years, starts at Bede park and goes along Western Boulevard where a range of arts and crafts tents are based.

Stephen Laing, 24, is from Kent but comes to the festival every year whilst visiting family.
He says; “Overall it’s a 10 out of 10. You can sit down and have a beer whilst watching the kids play on the bouncy castle. You can walk around look at the stalls and chill out with the family. It’s a good event and I’d recommend to come up here.”

However, Angry homeowner Nathan Hall, 27, who lives close to the festival calls it ‘absolutely pathetic’ and is ‘definitely not worth it’.
He says; “If you’re going to do it, make sure you cut it off by six o’clock and make sure everyone’s gone home by seven. It’s just too much. I’ve got a family, got bills to pay and work is a real struggle to get up for due to the noise in the night.”

Shannon Elbert, 30, who also lives by, disagrees however.
“There great music and great food, if you want to bring the kids along it’s a great day out for the family. I have family in Sheffield and we go all the time. I suppose it could cause a bit of traffic in the day but I don’t understand why people get frustrated with it.”

Factfile on what the Riverside festival is