As Bristol's harbour festival gets in to full swing, David Clensy looks at the maritime fun you can have in the city this weekend

THE 37th annual EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival is bringing the city to life this weekend, with live music, stalls and street theatre to enjoy, as well as three spectacular tall ships moored in the city.

The organiser, Bristol City Council, says the event, which is one of the UK's biggest free festivals, is attracting a greater variety of performers than ever before.

More than 200,000 festival-goers are expected on the city's Harbourside, stretching from Queen Square to Cathedral Walk in the new Harbourside development and the ss Great Britain lying beyond.

Other nautical attractions will include the tall ship, the Kaskelot, which is a three-masted barque and a star of the movie Shackleton.

It will be joined in the Floating Harbour by the Earl of Pembroke, which was built in Sweden in 1948, and is a replica of another three-masted 18th- century wooden barque.

Bristol's own replica of John Cabot's ship, The Matthew, which sailed to Newfoundland in 1497, will be sailing around the harbour.

The ever-expanding festival this year also features musical performances from the likes of Beth Rowley, Barry Adamson, the Incredible Strange Film Band, and the Locarnos.

“The festival develops every year, and this year we are also covering a larger area – because we now have new sections of the Harbourside develop- ment that were still being built last year,” says Philippa Haynes, who is the head of arts, festivals and events at the city council.

“With more than 200,000 people expected, it's going to be a weekend-long celebration of Bristol life. We have a spectacular firework display being launched from the roof of the former Industrial Museum building on Saturday evening, at 10pm, which I'm particularly looking forward to – it should be quite spectacular.”

If you find yourself getting a little peckish, there will be a range of mouth-watering treats on offer around the festival, with stalls selling everything from Caribbean delicacies to Asian specialities.

For some alternative retail therapy, you can visit the Waterfront Square Market, with more than 40 independent traders from across the South West.

If your tastes are a little more European, you can head to the Continental market in Queen Square, where you will find everything from cheese to charcuterie.

Circus Bijou's street theatre area in Millennium Square is always one of the highlights of the festival, and this year it will be there with a theme of “Bristol Fashion”.

International trapeze artists Duo Ssens are among the artistes at the circus stage, which has been specially designed by students of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School to include a built-in catwalk.

You will find the new Dance Village at Cathedral Walk – part of the newly completed Harbourside development.

The emphasis of the dance programme is excellence and diversity, with local, national and international acts showcasing their talent.

Highlights include the first Bristol performance of the award-winning routine from local hip-hop troupe, the Dark Angels.

The eclectic dance programme also features a world-premiere piece by Bristol-based choreographer Julia Thorneycroft, which has been specially commissioned for the festival.

The world-famous Martha Graham Dance Company is flying across from New York to perform, as well as Nacho Duato's Compania Nacional de Danza from Madrid.

There will also be free classes and workshops throughout the day, so everyone can limber up and take part in the activities.

Visitors to the festival will see that work is already under way to create a new history museum for the city.

The iconic 1950s transit shed on Princes Wharf – formerly the Industrial Museum – is being renovated, and its visitor facilities dramatically improved to make a museum for a 21st- century Bristol.

We have to wait until 2011 for the doors to open but, in the meantime, visitors to the festival will be able to ride on some of the museum's largest and most popular locomotives.

Meanwhile, the Twinning Zone highlights the 20th anniversary of Bristol's links with Tblisi, capital of Georgia, featuring unusual Georgian cuisine from Quartier Vert and top wines from the importers Gaumajos.