The festive period of 2019 was undoubtedly our busiest yet, and made all the more challenging as our MD Mark Harrison was performing almost nightly on “Gypsy” at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester – so superstar Ethan McKnight stood in to conduct on many occasions.
On Tuesday 26th November we played a concert of Carols and Christmas Music with our friends from The Salvation Army for a community audience. Both Mark and Guest M.D. Trevor McKean ensured that levels of audience participation remained high.
On Saturday 30th November we played at the annual Christmas Lights' Switch On at The Grapes in Prestolee, but also a little earlier in the evening performed a short carol session on Brackley Street in Farnworth.
On Tuesday 3rd December we played a selection of Christmas Carols to celebrate with our community the switch on of the Kearsley Christmas Tree Lights.
Saturday 7th December was a hugely busy day for the band with three engagements in the calendar.
Firstly, we spent an enjoyable afternoon playing Christmas Carols for the customers and staff of The Bolton Christmas Tree Farm.
In the early evening we played a set of Christmas music at the family home of Luke Whittaker for their commemorative Christmas Lights Switch-on, where a good sized crowd had gathered to sing along whilst the band played. We finished the day visiting a number of the local hostelries and restaurants where we played half a dozen Christmas Carols at each venue.
Saturday 14th December was a very soggy night but neither the band's or our audiences' spirits were dampened as we did a second festive tour of local hostelries. A big thank you must go to the Owners, Staff and Customers of The Unity Brook, The Grapes, Kearsley & Ringley Conservative Club, La Roma and The Horseshoe for allowing us to perform a number of Christmas Carols at each of their premises.