D-Day Darlings Juniors bringing Christmas cheer to Tamworth
The D-Day Darlings and D-Day Juniors have announced they will be performing at the Christmas lights switch-on event on Sunday, November 24 2019, as part of the programme of festive entertainment.
Special guests the D-Day Darlings and Juniors, will sing festive classics from 5.30pm-5.50pm, ahead of the main festival event in St Editha’s Square at 6pm. The countdown to Christmas will be launched in style with an afternoon of festive fun for the whole family in Tamworth town centre.
Following the success of the D-Day Darlings on 2018’s Britain’s Got Talent and their hugely successful debut Album “I’ll Remember You”, they are now known as UK’s premier wartime act. The Juniors were set-up in March this year and have already performed in some great venues such as the Union Chapel London and the Black Country Museum. Their performance along-side two of the D-Day Darlings at the light-switch on, is guaranteed to be a memorable tribute to wartime Christmas spirit.
The annual Christmas Lights Festival, sponsored by Ankerside Shopping Centre, starts at 1pm and promises another jam-packed afternoon of festive fun for the whole family. Activities include fairground rides, live music and dance performances, walkabout characters, stilt walkers, free face painting, a new festive market and lantern parade.
Entertainment will centre around the Touch FM stage in St Editha’s Square with a variety of live performances from 3pm.
All children across the town are invited to take part in the lantern parade and help launch the festive season in style.
This year the new spectacular lantern parade will represent the 12-days of Christmas, with the involvement of 12 different community groups. These groups will be involved in making a new and bigger lantern design with each lantern themed with one of the 12-days of Christmas. Families and children are invited to join the project and make a smaller lantern that they can carry on the day of the parade.
A final lantern-making workshop will take place in Ankerside Shopping Centre on this Saturday, November 16, starting with sessions at 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm.
Youngsters are then invited to collect their lanterns at 3pm on November 24, from Unit 49 in the shopping centre.
Creators of the 12 days of Christmas lanterns will have the opportunity to join in a sing-a-long on the main stage with Tamworth Pantomime Company and Touch FM before beginning the parade route which will pass through Ankerside to the Bandstand. The lanterns will then be joined together to make a Christmas tree shape, and the smaller children’s lanterns will form a Christmas present display.
Also returning is the annual Christmas Tree Festival in St Editha’s Church, which invites schools, businesses, local groups and individuals to decorate a tree to be displayed in the church. More information on that is available here: www.tamworth.gov.uk/Christmas-tree-festival
The free Christmas lights switch-on festival is one of the highlights of Tamworth’s impressive calendar of outdoor events and is organised by Tamworth Borough Council’s Arts & Events team in partnership with Tamworth Christmas Lights Committee. It usually draws thousands of visitors from across the area.
Line up for the main stage:
- Flaxhill Primary School Choir – 3pm - 3.10pm
- Two Gates Primary School Choir – 3.10pm - 3.20pm
- Treyc Cohen Choir – 3.20pm - 3.40pm
- Just Perform Musical Theatre Group – 3.40pm – 4pm
- 12 Days of Christmas sing-along with Tamworth Panto – 4pm
- St Leonards Primary School Choir – 4.40pm – 4.50pm
- Meg Benton – 5pm – 5.10pm
- Tamworth Voices – 5.10pm – 5.30pm
- D-Day Darlings Duo and Juniors – 5.30pm – 5.50pm
- Santa, The Bake-Off winner and Tamworth Mayor – 5.50pm
- Lights Switch On – 6pm
Andrew Barratt, Chief Executive for Tamworth Borough Council, said: “We all look forward to the annual Christmas Lights Festival as it marks the start of the main countdown to Christmas.
“This is an incredibly popular event in our calendar of free entertainment for residents and visitors and it’s a lovely festive day out.
“We are delighted to welcome the D-Day Darlings and Juniors, along with other local choirs, to help us start the festive season in style.
“We are again inviting youngsters to really be a part of that with their families by joining the Christmas Lantern parade which also include this year 12 community groups that will design 12 large lanterns to be displayed at the Bandstand.
“I’d encourage anyone interested to take part in the drop-in workshop being hosted in Ankerside Shopping Centre to not only secure a place in the parade, but also to take advantage of this free creative activity.”
The D-Day Darlings will also be performing at the newly refurbished Tamworth Assembly
Rooms on Friday, March 27. Tickets are now on sale at www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk or by calling the box office on: 01827 709618.
More information is available from Tamworth Borough Council’s Arts & Events team by emailing TARartsdevelopment@tamworth.gov.uk, or calling 01827 709314.
