By Pam McClounie

Last updated at 12:00, Thursday, 16 June 2011

Whitehaven is ready to rock! The main stage for this weekend’s Whitehaven Festival has been built ready to welcome stars like Madness, Razorlight, Boy George, Bananrama and T’Pau.

The main stage under construction for the festival

The festival, on the harbourside, runs from tomorrow until Sunday.

As well as music it will also feature airshows, firework displays, tall ships, food stalls, a fairground and celebrity chefs.

Cumbrian fashion designer Angy Morton will dedicate her spectacular ‘Red Dress - Black Dress’ collection to West Cumbria’s mining heritage as part of her ‘Catwalk on Water’ on Sunday.

Angy, best known for her avant garde creations, has used the concept of iron ore and coal, the red and black of Cumbria, as a basis for this unusual, new collection of hand-made-to-measure dresses. She has also drawn inspiration from specific aspects such as the 1910 Wellington Pit Disaster and the famous Montreal No.4 pit to create a selection of one-off couture designs from recycled fabrics.

Pamela Telford, manager of Haig Colliery Mining Museum, said: “This is a fabulous way to celebrate the industrial history of the area. Angy has captured in such a unique way the essence and influence of mining through her creativity.

“An estimated 1,700 men, women and children lost their lives winning coal in the Whitehaven area, plus up to one in ten iron ore miners. These people should never be forgotten.”

First published at 11:27, Thursday, 16 June 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk