Celebrating Totally Thames 2015 Festival

Yes, there is something better you can do in London this September besides shutting yourself in. Home cleaning chores can wait a bit, right now you need to be out and enjoy yourself. Just because the summer has went away does not mean you have to immediately go back indoors and forget about fun and festivals. Exactly the opposite – London offers you to join the Totally Thames festival – an annual experience that starts on 1 September and ends on 30 September. Celebrate the river Thames along with a huge part of the London population with river-inspired events that will show you old and new sides of art, music, regattas, rallies, races, and all sorts of educational activities.

The Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Race Start
The festival opens with the raising of Tower Bridge to allow the passing of the twelve 70-foot Clipper yachts that will embark on a journey to race around the world. You can come to say farewell to the twelve amateur sailor crews consisting of more than 40 nationalities, led by a veteran skipper, going across the ocean for the toughest endurance race on planet Earth.

Tall Ships
The Clipper is not the only deal of ships you will be seeing during the festival. During that start you can witness the display of the Tall Ships that will sail along the Thames for five days and drop anchor for the maritime family festival at Woolwich Arsenal Riverside. Marvel at the ships’ grandeur and stare at them as they sail under firework light at the evenings.

A Prelude to Menuhin's Centenary at the Temple Church
It will be Menuhin Competition winners’ turn to entertain you prior to the competition in 2016. They will entertain you with a gala concert in the Temple Church located on the banks of the Thames. The Orpheus Sinfonia and Roger Sayer will be a part of that gala concert, giving the winners a hand in the concert, introduced by Naga Munchetty.

Southwark Cathedral Concerts
The oldest and only entrance to London across the river Thames – the Southwark Cathedral – will host a number of concerts to fill the visitor’s ears with the sound of amazing music pieces from a variety of choirs and orchestras. Take part in the activities to listen to the Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir, the Orpheus Principals, the Georgian Polyphonic Choir, a few Organ Recitals, and Sacred Rivers – Early Music from the New World event. Bring the music of Thames into your life with concerts within every few days throughout September.

Cutty Sark
And if you think you have seen Tall Ships, then you have not seen the grandest of them all, and the one filled with the most history: the Cutty Sark. This magnificent piece of sea craft has been part of the London landscape for nearly 60 years now, and its history dates back all the way to 1870. To learn more about the ship, you can get a ticket and visit it inside to marvel at the structure and story of this historical vessel. You cannot live disappointed when you see and hear all about the near one hundred years of activity of the magnificent ship.

And even when there are no events, the Thames will get a month-long season of music and its banks and shores will be filled with venues, displaying the skills of numerous performers, and will offer riverside barbecues for the visitors. It is a September you will not forget anytime soon, so take part in the festivities and join the maritime fun all around the Thames in the eponymous festival. Your carpet cleaning can wait, but none of the ships in Totally Thames will.