Boldon Festival

The Boldon Festival

Many people turned out on 22nd December 2004 to listen to the bands, sing carols and listen to the children's choir. A good time was had by all.

Sorry the picture is so dark, I have not yet got the knack of photographing at night. Other pictures can be seen in the "Boldon Festival" album.

West Boldon Christmas Festival.

The West Boldon Christmas Festival began at Christmas 1999 by Margaret Davison the Sub Postmistress at the time, in answer to many comments to her and her husband, Matt in the Village Post Office. The main concern was that nobody seemed to know who lived where anymore in the Village. There having been a very close strong village community in the past, nothing seemed to happen in the village any more to bring the community together. Someone should do something about it.

Matt and Margaret were keen help, in whatever way they could. They started by giving support to the Boldon Colliery Brass Band, which at the time was struggling, and which had always been a feature playing around the village for many, many years at Christmas time. The idea was to bring the two together in the hope that one would help the other and as S.T. Council was erecting a Christmas Tree each year on the green next to the Post Office, the obvious thing seemed to be to ask the Band to come and play carols around the tree on the Tuesday one week before Christmas and give them a donation. It started in quite a small way but was well supported by the Village Community and year on year kept growing and ‘Carols around the Tree’ at the tree beside the Post Office was eagerly looked forward to by everyone.

In 2003 a group of Residents, who had been meeting at odd times to try to get things done in the village, formed The West Boldon Residents Association and from then on they were able to do things in a bigger way seeking the support of businesses and organisations and our local Council to build the night into a very popular Christmas event and calling it The West Boldon Christmas Festival.

Unfortunately at that time, the Boldon Colliery Band disbanded, and we now have The Peoples Silver Mission Band play for us each year.

We run a very successful raffle, which is drawn on the night , and which is well supported by local businesses, proceeds of which are mainly donated to St. Clares’s Hospice and the rest split between other chosen charities.

The evening commences with ‘Carols around the Tree’ with the band at the tree in Addison Road at 6.30.p.m., moving on, around 7.p.m. between the Black Horse and Wheatsheaf pubs where there are more carols, hot nibbles provided by both pubs and the West Boldon Church of England School Choir sing three carols. The carollers then proceed to The Red Lion, under the guidance of our local police, where we have more carols, hot soup provided by The Red Lion, and our raffle draw (usually drawn by one of our local Councillors).

It is the highlight of the year in the village and has certainly helped residents to know and meet up with one another, welcome many visitors, and given us a stronger community identity. The West Boldon Residents' Association now organises various other small activities during the year and they hope to be able to organise another big annual community summer event once the Village Green on Rectory Bank has been landscaped.

Boldon Calendar