ANTICIPATION is bubbling with only a few days until Bradford will experience an onrush of wondrous watery activities as part of a weekend-long event.

The Bradford Bubble Up, curated by national arts organisation The Brick Box, is a three-day water-themed party and will be officially launched tomorrow.

As previously reported in the T&A, the event will feature an official dance, will explore the history of one of Bradford Beck, and will include an urban holiday opportunity thanks to a deconstructed beach and a very steep water slide down the length of Darley Street.

Now the detailed programme of all activities taking place from the evening of Friday September 7 to Sunday September 9 has been released.

The official opening party will be held at the National Science and Media Museum.

Yesterday saw the arrival of a huge disco ball at the Brick Box office ready for the “Beneath the Waves” party on Saturday evening.

The organisers were also out at the Mirror Pool, a focal point for the overall event, to test it for one of the weekend’s activities.

As if by magic, a miniature rainbow appeared in the spray from one of the fountains, which reflected the light refractions artwork created by Lucy Barker in a Darley Street window display.

Another artist was spotted hard at work in the underpass between City Park and the Media Museum yesterday. She was laid back on a small piece of scaffolding, painting the roof of the tunnel with watery motifs.

Cecil Green Arts has plugged together to craft a water spirit puppet, which you might be able to get catch a glimpse of during Bubble Up.

There is a lot to take part in over the weekend, from the wacky and wonderful - such as the “Mackerel of the Sea” which will give the public the chance to take an immersive adventure through sound inside a very large mackerel, the brainchild of artist Georgie Buchanan.

To a more focused approach on the importance of Bradford’s relationship with water, which is highlighted in a Follow the Beck Photo Walk hosted by artist Simon Warner, as well as the chance to find out more about the Beck’s hidden currents from the Friends of Bradford’s Becks group.

Mr Warner will also present “Seven Streams”, a four channel film exploring the depths of Bradford’s Becks and its babbling streams that rise to the west of the city.

An undercurrent of the weekend is regeneration, reimagination and taking the city into a new era, without losing what makes it unique.

This theme is evidenced in the organisers prioritising the use of Bradford’s spaces in different ways, such as the Darley Street water slide, as well as physically interpreting the city’s changing landscape in the form of the Phase Change dance.

Eleanor Barrett, co-director of The Brick Box, said: “We’re so excited to be doing an event like this in Bradford, and it absolutely couldn’t happen anywhere else.

“We’re using so many of the resources that are totally unique to Bradford to make this event what it is, including the public spaces, local talent and of course the hidden and not-so-hidden waters of the city.”

More than £160,000 has been raised for the weekend’s events, which will all be free to enjoy.

For a full list of events on the programme visit the event page at: bradfordbubbleup.com