YET again, Fringe by the Sea brought huge crowds to North Berwick for more than 200 performances and events.
The biggest welcome was from the sun, which shone down virtually non-stop from the first day until Sunday evening, as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra became the first full classical orchestra to appear at the festival.
Esme Young (pictured below), from The Great British Sewing Bee, was greeted like a rock star by her 1,200-strong audience. She then delighted her fans more by walking around the town greeting all those she encountered.
The first weekend, as reported last week, had a sold-out performance from Texas and the now-legendary encounter between Sharleen Spiteri and a puffling on the stage.
Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes was also a huge draw, with 1,600 people captivated by every word as he talked about his adventures around the world.
Frankie Boyle and Happy Mondays also saw the Belhaven Big Top packed to the rafters.
Miguel Mantovani of The Cuban Brothers
Festival favourites The Manfreds drew many fans to watch them play another great set, as did Hamish MacGregor, who has performed at many previous festivals.
There were also big crowds for Freedom and Form Dance group, The Drama Mill performances and Gospel Choir North Berwick, whose emotional performance brought tears to some of the audience. Bombskare raised the roof and local bands Midnight Ambulance and Dr Salad were great support acts for Texas and Happy Mondays.
Family shows that knocked the socks off the younger generation were The Singing Kettle and the chance to see Morph, Wallace and Gromit come to life in clay at the Aardman Model Making workshops.
Following The Cuban Brothers’ energetic set, one audience member was heard saying: “I can’t believe I have just been dancing with my 76-year-old mum and my 14-year-old son!” The organisers now see them as becoming regular fixtures at the festival.
Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson appeared at the festival
Festival director Rory Steel said: “When we first started booking the programme, we set out to give North Berwick the best Fringe by the Sea ever, and I believe that’s exactly what we did. It was an amazing atmosphere this year in Lodge Grounds, helped by the fantastic weather we had all week.
“Our final act, Troy Hawke, brought the house down with his hilarious set on Sunday evening and left us all smiling as we now start to work on next year’s festival.
“As ever, I would like to thank all our staff, volunteers and sponsors – we couldn’t have done it without them.”
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