Aycliffe town centre hosted a superb day of celebrations to welcome in the festive Christmas season on Saturday 26th November organised by Aycliffe Radio in support of the town centre shopkeepers to encourage ‘Shop Local’.
The main spectacle was the performance by SPARK! A band of drummers whose costumes, make up and antics made for a great piece of street entertainment as dusk began to fall. After performing in Aycliffe the drummers moved to Spennymoor – and, in a couple of weeks time will be in Qatar; as they have been invited to perform at the world cup closing ceremony.
Aycliffe town centre would like to record their thanks to Durham County Council for booking and paying for SPARK! well in advance of the event and look forward to collaborating with the County Council again for next years celebrations.
Special thanks to Rotary Newton Aycliffe who assisted Santa in handing out free selection boxes to over 500 children and in the process raising £265 which will go towards the club’s Christmas hamper appeal for those in need.
Also entertaining the crowds were the children from HC Theatre and Performance Company and pupils from Greenfield College, the local police team came along and manned the free inflatable snow globe, which, along with Vicky the face painter, had a queue all afternoon.
Mayor, Ken Robson was pleased to attend and assist Santa and Mrs Claus turn on the Christmas tree lights. Ken gave a greeting from the Town Council and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
More images from the event can be found on Newton News & Aycliffe Radio website.