Alnwick plans to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in style!
A four-day musical celebration is at the centre of Alnwick’s plans to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.
Alnwick Town Council is delighted to announce details of the event which has been many months in the planning.
Councillor Geoff Watson has organised a fantastic line-up of artists that will be performing on a stage in the market place. Hop over to our YouTube channel to see a video giving full details of the concert: https://youtu.be/LchsfvcDS0Y
From Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June, Alnwick Market Place will be full of harmony as a fantastic range of acts take to the stage. Musicians and singers have prepared a great repertoire that reflects the seven decades of Her Majesty’s reign.
The whole event starts with a royal proclamation in the market place at 9.55am on Thursday June 2nd and then the four-day musical performances begin.
Artists such as The Bluebirds, Wor Vera, Eliza Soul, The Bloomfield Duo and local performers such as the Duchess’s Community High School and Alnwick Playhouse Band will be on stage every day between 10am and 4.30pm.
Printed programmes giving full details of the four-day concert are Alnwick Town Council office and the Tourist Information Centre within Alnwick Playhouse. The programme is also available to view on the Alnwick Town Council website HERE
As part of the celebrations, on Saturday June 4th a Jubilee Parade, organised by the Duchess’s Community High School Culture & Community Coordinator Rosie Bush, will create a fabulous spectacle as youngsters carry banners and flags through the town centre.
Make sure you are in place between 11:00 o’clock and 12noon if you want to cheer them on as they walk from St Paul’s school, through the town centre to the Barbican at Alnwick castle.
The parade will end in The Alnwick Garden which is also celebrating the Jubilee in a variety of ways. These include a corgi trail for children organised by students from the Duchess’s Community High School, performances from RAF Boulmer’s Military Wives Choir and Alnwick Round Table’s jubilee carnival which will feature a selection of fun and games.
Local people will be encouraged to continue the Jubilee mood on Saturday June 4th when the BBC footage of the Platinum Party at the Palace is relayed live onto a giant screen at Barneyside between the Alnwick Castle and Garden. It’s hoped that Ed Sheeran, Cliff Richard and Bill Bailey will among the performers, and they are set to be joined by ‘national treasure’ Basil Brush – can’t wait for that!
The giant screen will also transmit live BBC coverage of The Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday June 5th which will combine street arts, theatre, music, circus, carnival and costume to celebrate Her Majesty’s unwavering duty, love of the natural world and dedication to the Commonwealth.
Alnwick Town Council has teamed up with Alnwick Playhouse to offer FREE Jubilee screenings:
On Thursday June 2nd ‘Watch With Mother’ will bring back happy memories for many when it is screened at 10:30am.
The nostalgia continues at the Playhouse on the Thursday with ‘A Queen is Crowned’ at 12:30pm. This ITV record of the Coronation includes footage from the actual crowning, the processions before and afterwards and general introductory views of Britain in 1953.
Also at Alnwick Playhouse, on both Friday 3rd June and Saturday 4th June, ‘The Queens Handbag’ will be created in the studio space with Alnwick Youth Theatre. Costing £5 to participate and aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds, rehearsal sessions are in the morning from 10am-12pm. Then the performance will follow from 12-12.30pm where the audience are invited to pay what they decide.
Danceformation ‘7 Queens’ will be performed in the Studio Space on Saturday June 4th at 2:30pm and again the audience are asked to ‘Pay What You Decide’.
The 4th June also marks the Jubilee parade marching through the town which will be going past Alnwick Playhouse, as a prime viewing space the playhouse will have cream teas as well as The Queens Cocktail for those wanting to enjoy the parade with a little bit of class!
In the evening an invited audience will enjoy a Community Celebration in the Bill Hugonin auditorium.
On Jubilee Saturday and Sunday, Alnwick Playhouse is screening ‘Elizabeth: A Portrait In Parts’ at 1.30 pm. This is a new documentary focussing on the life of the Queen, the longest-lived, longest reigning British monarch and longest serving female head of state in history.
On Friday 3rd June, between 12noon to 5pm at St James church Centre in Pottergate, Alnwick Town Council is inviting you to attend free screenings of two films; Elizabethan Express, from British Transport Films. Although originally intended as an advertising short, it now acts as a nostalgic record of the halcyon years of steam on British Railways. Also, Any Man’s Kingdom, a 30minute film shot in Northumberland during Coronation year, 1953. A delightful nostalgic colour film from the archives of the British Film Institute, a wonderful record of rural life in Northumberland half a century ago.
Motoring enthusiasts will get a chance to meet members of the TVR Car Club when about 20 cars will arrive at The Alnwick Garden at 12.30 on Saturday 4th and park in front of the grand cascade. At 3.30pm they will leave in a motorcade which will drive through the Hotspur Tower, along Market Street, Fenkle Street, Narrowgate, Baliffgate, Dispensary Street, left onto Clayport then back along Market Street and through the Tower again as they off to their weekend gathering at Beamish.
Look out for the jubilee beacon which will be lit on the roof of the Alnwick Castle by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, Jane, Duchess of Northumberland and the Duke of Northumberland at 9.45pm on Saturday 4th
The whole of the town centre will be full of Jubilee vibes as our fantastic traders join in the celebrations.
Shopkeepers will yet again be creating their own wonderful window displays – we can’t wait to see what they come up with as they celebrate this special occasion in their own unique style!
Alnwick Markets are delighted to confirm they will be operating across all four days, offering a fantastic range of stalls.
The streets will be blooming beautiful too as Alnwick Town Council and Alnwick in Bloom fill the town with floral colour.
A free vintage bus will be running a return service from the Playhouse (Greenwell Road) to Aln Valley Railway on all four days of the Jubilee weekend.
Alnwick Town Council hopes that residents and visitors alike will have a memorable Jubilee weekend – with all that is going on Alnwick is definitely the place to be!
Contact details:
If you have a query about the jubilee music concert please contact Cllr Geoff Watson: geoffwatson123@gmail.com
or contact Alnwick Playhouse: https://www.alnwickplayhouse.co.uk/
and Alnwick Garden: https://www.alnwickgarden.com/
If you have a Jubilee event taking place in Alnwick that you would like the Town Council to publicise please email: clerk@alnwick-tc.gov.uk
