Bishop Auckland Town Council were host to a range of Platinum Jubilee celebrations over the bank holiday weekend to mark the 70 year reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
The festivities started on Thursday with a Platinum Party in Bishop Auckland Market Place, where over 4,000 local people gathered across the evening for fun, food and fabulous entertainment on a main stage which had a range of acts, including local singers, dancers, and performers.
The evening’s highlights included the Bishop of Durham lighting an official Platinum Jubilee Beacon to form part of the 3,000 beacon network across the country and a breakdancing queen, and beefeater soldiers who delighted the crowd with their moves. The evening came to a close with a fire dancing finale from La Flamo a 5 piece fire performance troupe.
Friday saw a Platinum Car Show, in collaboration with the Northern Bygones Society where over 25 cars were pristinely polished and took pride of place in the Market Place. Each exhibitor was thrilled to receive a certificate of recognition and jubilee medal for attending.
A Platinum Picnic was held on the Bowling Green of Auckland Castle, on Saturday where 1,000 free tickets were allocated to local residents. Children’s activities and family entertainment filled a fun family afternoon. There was also a free fun fair for small children in the Market Place from 11am till 4pm.
Mayor of Bishop Auckland, Cllr Michael Siddle said: “The Town Council were thrilled to be able to host a range of jubilee activities this weekend as we celebrate Her Majesty the Queens Platinum Jubilee. It is a magnificent achievement to have been on the throne for 70 years, and it is something than none of us will witness again in our lifetimes.”
“The range of celebrations across town has been great, we have supported parties at Henknowle and Woodhouse Community Centre’s. Schools have been involved in the ‘Jubilee Jog’ and art projects which are now on display in No.42, in collaboration with the Angel Trust, and supported by the Town Council. The Town Décor has been provided by the wonderful knitters at King James WI, the bunting and beefeater bollards have been a delight and put a smile on many faces.”
“The turnout for the events has been exceptional, over 4,000 in attendance across the evening on Thursday and the 1000 free tickets for the picnic event sold out in less than 12 hours. It truly has been a weekend of fantastic celebrations where our communities have come together after being apart for so long”
“All of the events are only possible due to fantastic partnership working between the Town Council Team, The Auckland Project, Baccanalia, and the Bridge Creative. They have worked very hard over the weekend and the last few months to bring the Town Council’s celebrations to life, and for that we are very thankful.”
“There has also been a small army of volunteers who have helped with every aspect of manning the events and we are very grateful for their work and support, as they have really helped to make the events a great success.”
