Historic street makes a Bold statement

Bold Street came alive as music blasted and activities commenced. The weather held out for Saturday's day of celebrations when more than 50 stores joined in to promote their independent shopping quarter.

Utility owner and Bold Street Traders Association representative, Kate Cowie, organised the event. She said: “I’ve got two shops on Bold Street. It is an independent street and it needs to be promoted. With the change in Liverpool city centre it is reassuring to see Bold Street still thriving today and this is the reason why we want to celebrate the well-loved street that we all trade on.”

Kate held a competition in one of her shops for children up to the age of 10 to design a t-shirt which they could customise themselves. Christian Maden, aged six, from Allerton won, beating more than 75 other entrants with his ‘I love my home and family’ design.

Local reggae and dubstep djs exploded onto the scene with a sound system set up next to Size? Skateshop. The bass beats carried the length of the street, attracting large crowds who continued to dance throughout the day. Adam Aulaqi, who helped set up the decks, said: "I can't believe they have actually given us permission to do this."

In addition to the music and competitions, an empty unit towards the top of the street was transformed into a cinema which showed classic films and shorts. Smartly dressed ushers were employed to give the full cinema experience.Graffiti artists also performed live, spraying specially commissioned works to display in shop windows along the street. These were in addition to the flower designs painted onto windows by Nina Edge, resident artist at FACT.

A popular attraction was that of Maggie May’s café, which offered free scouse tasting to those wandering around. Alison Little, working for the eatery, was dressed as the famous Liverpudlian in a newspaper wedding dress made out of the Echo sports pages. She said: “It’s a great day to bring people to Bold Street and get involved with what is here. Maggie May’s has been part of the street for years and it is a great idea to show people what we are all about.”

In its second year, the festival was deemed a big success by Kate and her team at Utility.