Three strands of culture in North East England

Thrived in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries through rowing as professional sport, innovative design of racing boats, and music hall songs to honour the oarsmen's prowess.

Bonnie Brave Boat Rowers

Sets out to recapture the lost world of the prestigious Christmas Handicap through the bridges of Newcastle; to relive the immense following for the north-south rivalry in pursuit of world titles; to celebrate innovators whose revolutionary designs spread wherever boats were raced; and to echo the minstrels who immortalised sporting champions in song in the music halls of Newcastle, Gateshead, and the industrial North East.