More than 22,000 people visited Grimsby town centre to enjoy the town’s first Viking festival according to official footfall figures.
The night sky was lit up on the evening of Friday 23 September as Grim the Viking, the legendary Norse merchant, sailed up the River Haven in his two longships kickstarting a packed weekend featuring re-enactment camps, battles, expert talks, parades, entertainment and markets.
Grim the Viking’s legendary tale was brought to life in front of a crowd of thousands who lined the waterfront outside the Fishing Heritage Centre where a beacon was lit before Grim was warmly welcomed ashore from his longships the Valhalla and Heron, as part of the event which was supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Families enjoyed dancing to a traditional Ceilidh band in Riverhead Square, took part in traditional crafts and enjoyed local artisan food and drink in the lively market square.
Julia Thompson, chair of VESR CIC, said: “We’re delighted this first event went so well and I hope everyone who came along enjoyed meeting Grim and his Vikings. It was great to see the town centre, Minster Square and People’s Park packed with families and visitors all having fun and finding out about the Vikings.”
Feedback from the public was overwhelmingly positive with many already looking ahead to the return of the festival in 2023. Visitor comments included calling Grim FalFest “the best I’ve ever seen in our town” while a second said “the event made me proud to be from Grimsby.” A third said: “It was a really great event, please come back. It was really interesting and educational but fun at the same time.”
Hannah Thompson, business manager at Heritage Lincolnshire, said: “On behalf of Heritage Lincolnshire, it has been incredible to see the impact that this event has made on Grimsby and the way everyone young and old enjoyed reconnecting with the history of their town. We are so proud to have been a part of that and we hope that journey continues on the lead up to the 2023 event.”
Organisers thanked everyone involved including local traders who took a chance on the first event and reported bumper sales over the weekend. Local businesses created special products from Riverhead Coffee’s Viking biscuits, Curious Cat’s cocktail, Docks Beer’s Grim Brew and a stunning silver bracelet by Silver Boo Jewellery.
Students from the Grimsby Institute gave performances of Scandinavian inspired songs to entertain the audience and volunteer ambassadors from the local community joined event stewards handing out free goody bags to children by local arts organisation Our Big Picture.
Details of next year’s event will be released in due course.
