Coastival brought three music festivals in one. International band Feeder played the Spa Grand Hall on the Friday night with a Valentine Day’s Jazz event in partnership with the Scarborough Jazz Festival on the Saturday featuring Clare Teal and Snake Davis amongst others. Sunday saw musical influences from across the globe converge on Scarborough courtesy of Musicport with performances by Hassan Erraji and Baka Beyond. Throughout the weekend the Acoustic Lounge in partnership with Acoustic Gathering Festival offered a free boat-load of talent from across Yorkshire.

Coastival was proud to present a stimulating selection of exhibitions by local artists along with a range of workshops and activities, the chance to visit artists in their studios and the extraordinary installation ‘What the Chambermaid Saw’ in a hotel bedroom.

Two tremendous sell out shows by Yorkshire’s and the UK’s finest comedy talents. John Shuttleworth brought his fabulous Minor Tour (and Other Mythical Creatures) show to the Stephen Joseph Theatre and wowed the audience with renditions of many of his classics including ‘Two Margarines’, ‘I Can’t Go Back to Savoury Now’ and ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. Scarborough-born stand-up comedian Paul Tonkinson from Channel 4’s Big Breakfast made a welcome return to the town making people laugh with his insightful and witty comedy.

Participants were dazzled by the lights and noise of the Coastival Lantern Parade, with its drummers, DJs and dancing which led to the free Scarborough’s Finest Family Concert with music and dance from opera singer Victoria Wright and the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra, the Hatton School of Performing Arts and Centre Stage. Wonderfully creative installations included ‘MONAD’ an atmospheric cinematic piece in the South Bay Underground Car Park, the ‘Peasholm Magic Lantern’ in the island pagoda with projected images, poetry, typography and music drawn from inspiration from the park and ‘Wave’ a video installation of waves to an accompanying soundtrack of human breath in St Martin’s Church.

Fringe events at Coastival 2009 ranged from rangoli lantern-making and painting workshops to a Green Arts Market, discovering dinosaur fossils at the local Rotunda museum and advice on planting a container vegetable garden. One highlight was the mysterious Salmon of Knowledge in a beach hut who would tell your fortune.

Lovers of music and screen found a delectable selection of free films during Coastival, ranging from the iconic ‘The Harder They Come’ through to the animated Beatles’ classic ‘Yellow Submarine’. Several slices of Yorkshire life were also served up including the magical ‘Turn of the Tide’, filmed in Robin Hoods Bay and the windswept moors of ‘Wuthering Heights’.

One of the UK’s most popular and successful black British dance companies RJC brought a work possessing their trademark emotional depth and authenticity. ‘HALO’ was a biographical solo piece tracing a dancer’s journey from immobility as the result of an unprovoked attack through to recovery.

Coastival’s little brother brought fantastic creative stuff for kids to the 2009 festival. You could find Three Billy Goats Gruff, giant carnival puppets, fun with words, music and crafts plus a chance to run your own radio station. All in one weekend!

Coastival in partnership with the Scarborough Literature Festival brought the opportunity to meet best-selling crime writer Sophie Hannah who spoke about her latest book the psychological thriller ‘The Other Half Lives’. The Sitwell Library at Woodend hosted a fascinating talk by Brian Oxberry on Dickens and his visits to Malton and the North Riding of Yorkshire with extracts from Martin Chuzzlewit and the Pickwick Papers.

The internationally renowned Stephen Joseph Theatre was the venue for a fascinating exploration into the story behind a class photo taken in 1976 performed by the Third Angel theatre company. There was also the chance to tread the boards in theatre performance workshops for all ages.