IWA National Festival

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The Inland Waterways Association National Festival & Boat Show is one of the key annual events on the UK Inland Waterways. Generally referred to as the 'National' it serves several functions:

• As a publicity vehicle for the IWA and Inland Waterways in general
• To raise funds for the IWA
• As a social gathering for boaters from around the country
• As a campaigning event

The first 'National' was held at Market Harborough in 1950, as the National Rally of Boats - a title it held until the 1970s. It soon became an annual event. It is held in a different location each year and is volunteer run.

The four functions of the event are to some extent conflicting and in recent years the campaigning aspect has been somewhat separated by the creation of an annual 'Campaign Cruise'.

Arguably it is as a gathering of like minded people that the National has been most influential. The festival brings together people from all over the country who do not meet in numbers except on the festival site. The original decisions to form both the Waterway Recovery Group and the National Association of Boat Owners both arose out of informal discussions held at the National.