Lanterns and Elves Herald the Arrival of Christmas in Neston
Author: Carrie Spacey | Published: 2nd December 2018 12:48 |
Neston came alive to the sights, sounds and even smells of the Christmas season, with the Elves 'n' Bells event on Saturday December 1st.
Photo by Rob Clive
Organised by the CH64 events group with Neston Town Council, Hip & Harmony CIC, Neston Community Youth Centre and Neston Rotary Club, the day saw the return of the much-missed lantern parade, a Christmas Market, live entertainment all around the town centre and a live nativity tableau at the Parish Church.
Photo by David Sejrup
The event was officially opened by Santa, before he made his way to a fabulous Grotto, where trees and decorations came courtesy of Station House Nurseries and Righway Ltd, set up by volunteers including the ever-tireless Claire Danks.
Photo by Bernard Rose
Festive stalls were in abundance in the Market Square, the Town Hall and on Brook Street, co-ordinated by the Town Centre team led by Nicky McMahon, who soldiered through the final preparation and throughout the day, despite a poorly back - special commendation for Nicky!
Alongside traders there were stalls run by community groups including the local Guides, Neston Army Cadets and the Ellesmere Port and Neston police unit.
Photo by Bernard Rose
Performances on the main stage, the Town Hall stage and at Busk Stops around the town was co-ordinated by Hip & Harmony's Paula Prytherch. Over the last few weeks, Paula had been going into local primary schools to firstly get the children's input on writing an original festive song and then to rehearsing them all for the grand finale performance on Saturday night. A tremendous project.
Other participating performers included Little Actors Theatre Company, Hip & Harmony's 64 N'Ukes and Community Choir, PAFTA, The Remnants, Modjango, Burton Bell Ringers, Neston Singers, Port Sunlight Brass Band and Bright Lights Theatre Group.
Photo by David Sejrup
'Mary' and the 'Angel Gabriel' led the lantern parade along with Mayor of Neston Cllr Pat Kynaston, Rev Alan Dawson, Neston Rotary President Eamon Fergus and the Mayor's guest, Deputy Mayor of Frodsham, Cllr Liam Jones.
The main Christmas tree at the Cross was the parade's eventual destination, with around 200 lanterns taking part. These had been created in a series of workshops on the run-up, at schools and NCYC, co-ordinated by Zaria Shreef. Some hugely creative ideas had gone into them this year, they all looked magnificent.
Photo by David Sejrup
As always, these events simply could not proceed without the huge efforts of a number of committed volunteers. A huge thank you to all of you who gave up your time and energy to make the event happen and for making it so enjoyable.
Our thanks also to contributing photographers David Sejrup, Rob Clive and Bernard Rose. Anything not othewise credited is ©AboutMyArea CH64.
See David's Sejrup's two videos on YouTube:
Elves 'n' Bells Finale (whole schools performance)
You can also see a handful of videos on our Facebook page (AboutMyAreaNeston) and Instagram (neston_life).
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Festive Fairtrade with Janet Griffiths and Pat Kynaston
Fairtrade fun for families, with Irene Pendleton.
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Neston and District Churches Together Open the Book Team performing 'The Story of the Wise Men'.
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Siobhan Flooks
Photo by Siobhan Flooks
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sjerup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by Bernard Rose
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
Photo by David Sejrup
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