Celebrations to mark 125 years of Northampton bandstand
A celebration will be taking place around a bandstand to mark 125 years of outdoor music at the site.The event will be conducted by Northampton Town Council at Abington Park on Saturday.Audiences have been enjoying the sunshine or dodging the rain to listen to music at the site since the last days of Queen Victoria.Musicians from across the county will be taking part in the celebration.
The English conductor, Thomas Beecham, once said that "brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away".But people in Northampton have been getting as close as possible to the music in the Abington Park bandstand for well over a century.The park was opened in 1897 to mark the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.It covers 120 acres (49 hectares), divided by Park Avenue South which runs between the upper and lower park.It includes a manor house, two lakes and a church.
The seasonal Bands in the Park programme of live performances has offered people a chance to enjoy music on Sundays and Bank Holidays, perhaps with an ice cream from the adjacent shop.The programme has become more varied in recent years with choirs, singers and rock bands appearing, as well as the traditional brass bands.
Keith Holland-Delamere, from the town council's community services committee, said: "It is incredible to think that these music performances have taken place on the Abington Park bandstand every year for the last 125 years, with the first ever performance in 1900."We wanted to mark this significant milestone with a celebration featuring local music and stalls, plus some traditional Maypole dancing, art activities and much more."
Local historian Douglas Goddard has put together an archive of heritage photographs and his collection will be on display in the park, as well as on the Northampton Town Council website.The celebration event, hosted by NLive radio, takes place between 11:00 and 16:00 BST.
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