Whit Friday Walks and Band Contest alternative style!
The first year for over 100 yrs the Whit Friday Band Contest is taking an unprecedented break in these uncertain times of Covid-19 pandemic.
The competition usually sees the streets of Saddleworth and surrounding areas thronging with visitors and the arrival of bands from all over the UK and the world. The bands travel from village to village playing in a string of contests, one held in each of 11 villages.
Last year saw 119 bands play across the region for individual awards and one overall contest prize. The Whit Band Contest began in 1884, and has only once been cancelled during the wars.
The contests happen on Whit Friday and are proceeded by the Whit Walks made by each of the local Churches. The congragation of each church parades around their village and then meet in Uppermill for a service. Again these walks are being cancelled, another show that brightens the villages.
But this year, the villagers of Saddleworth are planning to celebrate in the best way they know! Music and fun!
The Diggle Community have some suggestions to share:
Calling all Mossley people!!! Please send Fr David any photos or videos you have from Whit Fridays past so they can put together a ‘virtual’ celebration for this year! Email to vicarofmossley@gmail.com
Carrhill Road and St John’s Gardens in Mossley are having an alternative Whit Friday Band Contest. They will be asking people to sit at the front of their properties. Brass band music will be played and participating households will process down the street performing their alternative brass band, using whatever household items they can play a tune on. Chris Frost told us; ” It should be fun and we encourage social distancing at all times of course.”
For musical ideas Saddleworth Day of Music, a group set up on Facebook, are encouraging exactly that – A Day of Music but in an alternative form of people playing and sharing music online, and also have many links to Brass Band shows happening on the day. This group is well worth a look.
The members of the Uppermill Advent Calendar will be decorating their windows and gardens with yellow and white bunting (depicting brass and whit) and encourage others to follow too. Erica Ryan, founder of the group, said ; “We know it’s not advent quite yet but with Whit Friday fast approaching nothing says festive like a decorated window.”
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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