Wheely Good Fun At Glasgow’s Festival of Wheels!

By Contributor -

Maggie Smith, David Barr, Tom Shimmin and BMX-er Kriss Kyle at the launch of the Festival of Wheels.

Over three weekends in September, Festival of Wheels will bring roller skating, skateboarding, BMX biking and the Blue Light Festival together at Glasgow’s Riverside Museum.

The Festival of Wheels has been introduced following the outstanding success of last year’s Blue Light emergency services event, which attracted record visitor numbers of over 20,000 people.

Riverside’s first outdoor roller disco

As part of the Festival of Wheels, on September 3 and 4, soul music superstar Candi Staton and Studio 54 legend Jellybean Benitez are set to roll into town as Riverside prepares to host its first outdoor roller disco, in partnership with Electric Frog. Two days of back-to-back soul, disco and funk will continue when popular DJs Todd Terje, Dimitri from Paris and Jazzie B of Soul II Soul fame take to the decks – and ahead of the adult roller disco sessions, families can skate with their children to great sounds courtesy of a top DJ.

Skates, skateboards and BMX

The second weekend, September 10 and 11, will see Riverside and Clan Skates join forces to bring skate and BMX enthusiasts an array of lessons, pro-skater and bmx-biker demonstrations and the opportunity to show off their skills on a specially constructed ramp. Little ones just finding their wheels can try mini skateboard and BMX lessons – even if it’s raining, as it’s all undercover.

The Blue Light Festival

Finally, on September 17 and 18, representatives from Scotland’s Emergency Services will come together at Riverside Museum to be part of the second Blue Light Festival, the biggest display of its kind in Scotland.

This year’s Blue Light Festival event, which is free, will bring together Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland, Water Rescue, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heritage Trust, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Vintage Albion Black Maria, International Fire and Rescue, NHS Motorcycle Response Team, ScotsERVS Transport Team, Police Scotland Riverside Cycle Team and Mountain Rescue.

With more than 60 different vehicles attending, visitors to this free family event can discover more about the work front-line services do – or simply sound the siren! Climb aboard the bikes, cars, trucks, engines and boats, discover the equipment used by those people who keep us safe and meet some of the highly-trained staff that deal with a wide range of emergencies across the country.

There will also be a free kid’s zone, complete with fairground rides, inflatable slides, bouncy castles, face-painting and craft activities, and an impressive selection of vintage vehicles from the Museum’s own collection.

For more information, click here.

: Little Amelie Woods from Glasgow sits on David Barr’s Police Scotland bike at the launch of the Festival of Wheels.

: Rollerbladers Maggie Smith and Josh McGonigal get ready for the Festival of Wheels’ Roller Disco!

: Maggie Smith, David Barr, Tom Shimmin and BMX-er Kriss Kyle at the launch of the Festival of Wheels.

: Chaz Mailey shows off his BMX skills, which will be part of the wheely good Festival of Wheels!

Roller Disco

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September, 10am-1pm (Family Sessions): 2pm-11pm (Adult Session – strictly over 18s).
For prices and and to book tickets, click here.